Shadows Of A Past
by SFP83
Summary: A nervous chill went through her. Her life would be changing drastically, but at least it would be a change of her own choosing. . . If only she knew. Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.
1. Chapter 1

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inu Yasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

CH.1

"Are you sure you want to do this dear?"

Kagome sighed heavily as she contemplated her mother's question, and thought of how she would answer it. She and her mother had already had this conversation a million times.

"I think this is the only way mamma. I just . . ." she let her sentence trail off. How could she tell her mother that she was trying to protect them? Her mother would insist that she did not need to protect them, that her days of playing protector were over.

Gods, if she only knew the feelings that Kagome would get at times.

In addition, there was no possible way for her to explain the deep seeded pain that would lance through her entire being anytime she saw things such as the well house, or the god tree. Those places that had held comfort for her at one point in time, now held more pain than comfort. A person could go crazy living with that day in and day out.

Momma Higurashi glanced at Kagome from the corner of her eye. Contrary to what her daughter believed, she could see the pain that always seemed to linger just under the surface of her only daughters eyes. She also knew why it was there. She hated the pain her first-born child was forced to endure. Nevertheless, she also could not help wanting to be a little selfish. She did not want her baby to leave, there was already so much they had missed, and so much her poor child had missed. And why, because the fates of the world thought her their favorite plaything. Life was so unfair at times, her daughter knew of that better then most.

"Maybe you just need a little more time."

Kagome looked at her mother in surprise, and then in sadness. Apparently, she was wrong about her mother not knowing of her feelings. 'I should know better.' However, just because her mother knew of one of the problems did not mean she could understand the whole extent of them all.

"Momma it's been over two years already, and its still the same for me now as it was then. I just can't seem to forget, trust me I've tried."

Gods had it really been that long. Her poor baby. Maybe Kagome was right and a change of settings would help her heal. In any case her daughter was a grown woman and could make her own choices. She had already been doing it for a long time now anyhow. As the good mother she tried to be, she would sit back and take her children's choices on what to do with their own lives in stride. If they needed her, she would always be there for them.

"Alright dear, if this is what you need, then this is what it shall be. I will always love and support you in your decisions. And if you need me you know where I can be found."

Kagome smiled at her mother. "Thanks momma, you're the best."

"You do have your credit cards with you, right?"

Kagome laughed a little at the question her mother had asked three times already. "Yes mamma, I have my cards and the one you gave to me incase of emergency. They're in my pack." She pointed to the backpack sitting between her knees.

* * *

Kagome stared out the window of the plane she was in, watching the lights from the runway fade into the distance. A nervous chill went through her. Her life would be changing drastically, but at least it would be a change of her own choosing.

If only she knew…

* * *

Kagome stepped out of the airport terminal, wanting a breath of clean, fresh air instead of recycled air, what she got was a blast of hot air. She pulled at her long-sleeved, black shirt she wore as she walked; it was already starting to stick to her in an uncomfortable sort of way. Was New Orleans always this hot? The atmosphere was very heavy, humid.

Pulling out the tourist map she had grabbed at the airport, she looked it over and then decided on a direction she should head in. After adjusting her back pack straps into a more comfortable position, she started walking.


	2. Chapter 2

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inu Yasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

CH.2

After walking around for about two hours, getting a feel for her new environment, Kagome had come to one conclusion. Even if New Orleans was hotter then what she was used to, it was still beautiful. She could not wait to see it during the day. It was just past ten and she wondered if there was somewhere, not a bar, that was open were she could grab a bite to eat and rest her poor feet. It had been a while since she had walked like this. She should probably find a hotel to stay in while she was at it. Stopping at a corner, she consulted her trusty map.

When she looked up from her map, something caught her eyes. There was a tall blond man with wide shoulders and a narrow waist walking towards her. He was a hansom man, the lines of his face shadowed in determination, strength and anger. He was walking fast and headed right her way. Now Kagome had seen a lot in her days, but her days had also been over two years ago. Moreover, at the moment, seeing this extremely tall, extremely pissed off man walking strait at her, as if he had a purpose and she was it, well . . . it frightened her. Just a little.

Kagome went to take a step back, only to back directly into something, something very solid. Now she distinctly remembered, having just walked from that direction, there being no wall in the middle of the sidewalk there. Glancing over her shoulder at the "wall" blocking her escape rout, she ended up coming cheek to chest with another male. This male was also blond and built like a freight train. Were all blasted Americans so tall, or just the blond ones?

Kagome swallowed hard, not noticing the five other males and two females, standing directly behind the one she had just backed into. Maybe the man that was now running in their direction was just meeting his friend, who she was standing in the way of. Yeah, that was it. Denial was a beautiful thing.

Kagome stepped to the side. At least she tried to, until an arm captured her around the waist, lifting her feet from the ground, prevented it.

The next thing she knew there was a stabbing, pulling pain in her neck and seven other people, all . . . Yup, you guessed it, tall and blond, raced forward to confront the other blond man, who had just made it to them.

Okay the man biting her seriously needed to stop. For one it hurt like hell, I mean come on really, what had she ever done to him? For two, if he did not stop soon, he was going to get hurt. She could already feel her skin heating up, the first sign of her purification powers coming to the forefront. Could purification kill a human? She had no idea, and really, she would rather not find out.

The first blond man Kagome had seen was now fighting like mad. He was powerful. She heard him utter the words, "oh fuck this, you guys are toast!" What happened next made even her eyes widen more then a fraction. Without him even touching all of them, all seven of the people trying to hold him down, were flung away from him, towards her and her attacker. Then he was up and fighting even faster then before. It seemed as if he were trying to get to her. Kagome was starting to see the light, hazy, iridescent film that always seemed to cover her vision nowadays whenever her purification powers were in action.

"Please let me go! You're going to get hurt if you don't!" Her voice was chocked, and desperate. A deep vibration came from the man, holding her pinned to his front with his arm, and teeth. Was he laughing at her?

His grip tightened painfully. Kagome felt a deep shudder run through her body, the same time as her powers let loose. Then she was free, but falling to the ground, with no strength left in her body to catch herself with.

* * *

Talon was shocked. Now considering he was over fifteen-hundred years old, and an ex-Dark-Hunter, that was saying something.

One minute, he had been fighting, trying to save the young girl from the Daimon attacking her. The next she was lit up like a black light, literally, and then all the Daimons were turning to ashes'.

It all happened so suddenly. There was no time to catch her before she hit the ground. Her head hit the earth with a sickening thud, one that made him question her even being alive. She hadn't even held her arms out to stop her fall. Was she alive or was she just in shock? It would not be the first time he had heard of someone going into a comatose state because of a Daimon trying to rip out his or her soul. She would be lucky if that was the case. Most beings couldn't survive an attack like that at all.

Talon rushed forward to the girls' side. To his surprise, she opened her eyes to look at him, her eyes calmly studying him. Her eyes had a glossy sheen to them and looked unfocused, not surprising. When she reached one slender arm out to him, he immediately snapped out of his daze. What was the matter with him? Here she was, needing his help, and he was just standing there staring like an idiot.

There was blood all over her front from the neck wound she had received. He couldn't see any blood on her head from the fall, but it was hard to tell, with it being on the side of her head and her having such thick black hair. He'd just have to be extra careful and not let her go to sleep. He had to get her help, and fast or she might bleed to death.

He knelt by her side, scooping her little frame up as gently as he could into his arms. Man was this woman small or what? She couldn't even weigh a hundred pounds. He doubted if she would even come up to his chin. The only reason he knew she wasn't a child was because no child had curves like this woman. And yet she still did not affect him the way his wife did. Before he was married, and loved his wife more than anything, he would have definitely tried to sway this creature into his bed. Had she not been hurt of course…

He looked to her glossy eyes to make sure she wasn't sleeping before he spoke to her. "Its ok, we'll get you help, just hang in there." The woman just kept looking at him through eyes that were a vivid blue-grey and almost too large for her hart shaped face.


	3. Chapter 3

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inu Yasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.3

Sanctuary was relatively slow tonight. However, even on a slow night the biker bar was a rowdy place. The sign above the door proudly proclaimed this; home of the howlers, the howlers being a local band that played there.

The Peltiers were a clan of Katagaria bears, bears who could take human form but still kept their animal harts, and instincts. Mama Lo and Papa Bear Peltier, owned and ran sanctuary, all were welcome here as long as you kept the peace. In other words, as long as you didn't threaten anyone you were allowed to leave, in much better working order then if you were to threaten someone under their roof. Their house rule being: you don't bite me and I won't bite you. A good rule to live by when dealing with the Were-Bears.

And if there ever was a problem with their rules, well you could always take it up with, Mama Lo, Papa Bear Peltier, or one of their eleven grown sons. Any and or all whom could be in the bar at any given moment.

Talon was met at the door by Dev, one of Mama Lo's identical quadruplets. "Hey Celt, where the hell have you . . ." Dev's sentence trailed off when he saw the girl in Talons arms. "Well shit, what the hell happened to her? Daimons?" Talon nodded an affirmative before stopping at the Were-Bears side. "You got a place I can put her, she needs some medical attention."

"Sure. Wait here." It only took Dev a couple seconds before he returned, with his mother in tow. Mama Lo was a beautiful blond, who looked no older then her mid thirties, but who in-fact was a lot older then that. "Devereaux," Dev's mother called him by his true name, not the shortened version. "Get your father and handle the humans, we don't need a panic on our hands." Dev ran off to do as his mother bid, no questions asked. "Talon you fallow me, we'll take her to the back room."

When Talon entered the bar the rest of the way, he noticed that none of the "normal" humans even looked their way, tourists most likely. It was as if they did not even exist, one of the many neat tricks the Were-Bears could do. The "non-normal" ones that did look were silent. A couple of them were even Daimons, some of which looked at the girl in his arms as if she were a banquet, none moved to attack though, a smart move on their part. All walks of life came to this bar, but while they were here, they were not at war with each other as they normally would have been.

One man in particular caught the Celtic mans attention. Acheron Parthenopaeus, otherwise known as Ash, or in his case T-Rex. At six foot eight, with long black hair liberally streaked with red, dressed in black leather pants, a black skintight t-shirt, with heavy biker boots, the man was a sight you could not possibly miss.

Acheron was leader to the dark-hunters.

Before Talon could nod at the man even, he stood from the table in the corner where he had been sitting, and started to walk in their direction. Good, Talon needed to tell him what had happened anyway.

Upon entering the room, Talon spotted a large wooden table; He placed the girl on top gently, before taking a step back. Her eyes were still open, but they gazed at nothing in particular.

"Why did you not take her to a hospital?" Ah, he had wondered when T-Rex would say something. Not exactly the question he had been expecting, but hey it was as good a place to start as any.

"Honestly?" he watched as Mama Lo worked on the girl, the girl didn't even flinch when Mama Lo started cleaning the wounds with antiseptic. He turned his back to the girl then, not liking the fact that she was so quite while in pain, as if she were used to it. He looked at T-Rex instead.

"This place was closer, and besides. . ." he paused as he remembered the girl glowing. "I don't think she's human." The girl actually flinched, as if she'd been struck, hard, Mama Lo and Ash noticed while Talon did not.

Mama Lo was trying to stop the sluggish blood flow that was still coming from the girl's neck. However, when she looked into the girls eyes, she paused for a second in her treatment. The girl was in pain that was for sure, but she still kept her tears from falling, how strange. The Were-Bear didn't know why, but she suspected the pain was more emotional then physical. Most humans would be hollering about now if they could get past the shock of the attack itself, but not this girl. There was something vastly different about her. Mama Lo bent down to whisper in the girl's ear, "I know it hurts Cher', but your safe now. Let it go."

Ash was frustrated. Now normally he detested knowing other peoples fates, because it was one of his powers he could not control, their fates in life were usually shone to him, even when he didn't want to see them; however, with this girl, it was different he wanted to see her future and past, and all he was getting was a blank.

He did not know the girl, had never meet her in his life, which meant most likely, that she would be tying into his future, or the future of someone that he cared about, somehow. Sometimes, most of the time, it sucked knowing everything about complete strangers, but not being able to see his own future, or the futures of the ones he was closest to for that mater. Where would this girl fit in?

He studied the girl from behind his sunglasses. She was small, very small, maybe five foot, five foot two or three at the most. She had a slender body, but still filled out her clothing nicely. Her hair was exceptionally long and black, with a trace of blue highlights to it, which he suspected would get brighter with more light. It looked so soft, he wondered what it would feel like to run his hands through the thick strands, a second later he dismissed the absurd thought from his head.

She had a heart shaped face and a set of very lush, kissable lips. Her lips were made for smiling, he just knew it. At the moment those lips were trembling, which for some odd reason made him want to frown. He held back the impulse to do just that.

Then there were her eyes, which held a mixture of gorgeous blues and grays. Her eyes almost appeared too big for her little heart shaped face, but with the slight slant to the top eyelids and not the bottom ones, it gave her more of an exotic look, than a miss-matched one.

Over all, she was a lovely little creature.

The girl grabbed Mama Lo's hand in a tight grip, surprising the bear momentarily. "You don't understand, I . . . I killed that man." Her voice trailed off before picking up again, "Gods, what have I done!" Her lip trembled more, making Ash frown without thinking about it. Then her words actually registered in his head, making him blink, heavily.

She, this little tiny thing, killed someone?


	4. Chapter 4

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.4

"You killed someone?"

The girl turned her head to look at him and then blinked as if she hadn't even realized he was there. How unusual. He knew he was not the kind of individual you could miss, even in a crowd. Normally people couldn't look at him for more then a few seconds, without becoming scared, or uncomfortable and fidgety at least, especially women.

Ash knew most women found him attractive. In fact, sometimes it could be a hindrance, Artemis being the first and foremost example to pop into his mind. But Fear tended to be a heavy dissuader, and the majority of the humans he crossed paths with feared him, very much. Oh, he knew Artemis feared him to some extent, but she was by no means human. Pity that. It would be a vast improvement.

It took a lot to surprise him, yet this girl had done just that. She sat up with a little help from mama Lo.

When Kagome looked at the man who had spoken, it really did catch her off guard. Not so much his looks, as the aura he carried around himself. Yes, he was a good-looking man, extremely sexy in fact. But having run around in a world full of demons, some of which, were at the pinnacle in drool worthiness, and well you got the idea. Besides, looks weren't all that important to her, some of those drool-worthy specimens' had tried to kill her, repeatedly. She had learned her lessen fast; good looks did not equal goodness of the heart.

The aura this man carried though, it called out to her on some basic level, it said, I'm powerful, dangerous, I'm a predator on the prowl at all times, defiantly someone you don't want to mess with, and yet it also spoke to her of a profound loneliness. She was rather surprised, to learn, she had not noticed him right off the bat.

Talon answered for the girl, who now seemed to be studying T-Rex, as if looking for something. "No actually, she killed eight Daimons," he paused, thinking of something, and then finished in a little more subdued tone. "By herself."

"By herself?" Acheron's voice sounded incredulous. Talon nodded his head yes.

Ash looked back to the girl again, but he didn't like what he saw. She was looking at Talon with a look of absolute horror and self-loathing on her face; he almost feared she would break her little bird bones if she didn't stop shaking so hard. Seeing her like that, brought to him this insane need to pull her into his arms and comfort her. Needless to say, it was an odd feeling for him to experience, her being a stranger and all, particularly one he could not read. He was not the kind of man someone should look to for comfort.

"I killed eight people?" she whispered, her voice sounding small and scared, it shook almost as badly as her body did.

Ash sent a subtle nod to Mama Lo and Talon.

Mama Lo patted the girl on the shoulder kindly. "Well, I'm just going to go find Aimee and see about getting you a clean shirt. Talon be a dear, and help me find her please?" Talon nodded, before fallowing the fair-haired woman out the door.

Once the door closed, giving them some privacy, Ash moved to the table she was sitting on. He took a seat next to her, leaning his back up against the wall. He smoothly took her hand into his much larger one, startling her, yet she didn't pull away from his touch. He couldn't help it, this need to try to comfort her, touch her.

"That's not what he said little one, what he said was that you killed eight Daimons." He could see the confusion in her eyes. The questions she wanted to ask.

Even so, He would not explain anything to her. What would be the point? She wouldn't be allowed to keep the knowledge anyways, so why bother. Although, she did appear to be calming down somewhat, which was exactly what he wanted. There was just something about her being upset that bothered him; he would study that a little more in-depth later though.

Before she had a chance to inquire about the things he would not tell her, he spoke, "what's your name Little Bit?"

She looked at him for a moment, making him think that she might not answer, then when she looked down at the hand, his hand, that was still gripping her own in a soothing gesture; she seemed to change her mind.

"Kagome," her voice had a very melodic quality to it, and even though he could tell English wasn't her first language, she still spoke it very well. He liked the way her voice carried clearly. It was the type of voice bed-time stories for children should be told with.

Kagome studied the hand that was holding her own so tenderly. Every time his finger would slide over the top of her knuckles, in that slow caress, she would get this strange urge to shiver. It was as if he were touching her more intimately than what he really was. Kagome licked her lips, suddenly feeling warm. Okay, so maybe she was not as immune to good looks as she had previously thought. She hoped she wasn't suddenly becoming superficial, 'or it could just be the simple fact that he's good-looking and being nice to you,' her mind supplied for her with a little touch of sarcasm.

"Well Kagome you need not worry, you're safe here in the sanctuary. You need your rest though, so I shall take my leave of you." He tucked a stay strand of hair behind her ear, before letting go of her hand. Even as he walked away from her, his mind screamed at him to go back to her, that she needed comfort only he could give to her.

'What a load of crap.'

He was a stranger to her; he would probably end up frightening her more that anything else had tonight. He needed to leave; it was better that way, besides he still needed to talk to Talon about what had happened.

He was almost to the door before Kagome took notice that he was leaving.

"Hey you! Stop!"

He paused in his long strides, turning his head in order to look at her over his shoulder. She blushed becomingly, and then dipped her head in embarrassment. It was an enduring sight, to him. He also liked the look of her flushed cheeks. Moreover, when she started berating herself quietly in Japanese, it made him want to laugh, something he hadn't really done in a very long, long time. Apparently, she didn't know he could understand her native tongue.

"Hey you! Stop! Hey you, stop?" Where in the hells did that come from? GODS! What is the matter with me! Five minutes alone with mister yummy, my body is just dieing to be licked like a pop-sickle and I'm nice, and I become a scatter brained idiot. Where are my manners? Where's a hole in the ground to swallow you, when you need one?"

When she noticed, she was talking to herself aloud in Japanese, in front of him, her blush brightened considerably. She groaned audibly while rubbing a hand over her face in a frustrated manner.

Hearing her groan after talking in such a way did something to him. His blood heated, rushing to other regains of his anatomy. He didn't feel like laughing anymore. In fact, he felt like laying her down on that table and . . . Not that she could see, with him wearing sunglasses and all, but his eyes gleamed brighter for a few seconds, before he closed them.

He needed to leave before he did something they both might regret.

She cleared her throat before trying again. "I'm sorry, please forgive my rudeness. What I meant to say was, excuse me."

"Yes?" his voice had an odd inflection to it that had not been there before; there was something about it now, something that she couldn't quite place her finger on. Whatever it was it made her turn her head away again, feeling anxious.

"What is your name?" her question was whisper soft.

"Acheron or Ash, whichever you prefer."

"Will I see you again?" she looked up again when no response was forthcoming, but he had already left her, slipping out the door as quietly as he had come.


	5. Chapter 5

Shadows of a past

By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.5

Ash paused outside the door, thinking. Without even knowing it, that girl had given him a gift. She had taken the small amount of comfort he could give to her, without fear of her rejecting it or him. In return, she had only asked one thing of him. His name. Most people would have demanded answers of him right then and there. They always did, that was, until she came along. It had been a very long time since someone had not asked something of him, or demanded he give them something more. Even if it had only been a few words and a touch of hands, she had not asked for them. He had given them freely. It was something that had made him feel good.

'Enough of this.'

He started walking again, he had work to do. He couldn't just sit here thinking of some woman that he did not even know, even if she did make him burn. The only reason for her not rejecting him, was because she didn't know what he was, what he could do, and that she should fear him.

He stopped Mama Lo, on her way back to the room he had just come from. "Can she stay here, just for the night? She needs rest and it will give us the chance to learn more about what happened tonight, if she's here still it'll make it easer to question her if need be."

Mama Lo nodded her head at him. "I already thought of it, had a room made up for her well you were in there. Now if you don't need anything else, I'll go help her get cleaned up and relocated." she went to walk down the hall, then stopped as a thought struck her suddenly. "Do you think her family will wonder were she is and worry when she doesn't come home tonight?"

That was something he had not thought of. Did she have a family? A husband? That thought made him sad and angry for some curious reason.

'She didn't wear a wedding band,' his mind whispered, easing him some. "You'll have to ask her. I don't know," he continued down the hall, leaving her to question Kagome on her family status.

* * *

Talon was waiting for him at his customary table when he entered the main area of the bar again. The blond haired man held a cell phone to his ear, speaking into it quietly. The sight sent a painful stab of longing threw his gut; he wanted what the ex-dark-hunter had, a growing family, someone he could love and be loved by. Nevertheless, that would never happen, he wasn't lovable. He wiped the thought from his head, numbing himself. He was dark and scary, just like everyone thought, this was the way he preferred it.

Acheron took a seat with his back to the wall. "Tell Sunshine I said hello."

Talon gave him a curious look before shrugging his shoulders casually. "Hey babe, T-Rex is here, he's doing that funny 'I know all' thing again, and he says to tell you hi," Talon gave him a smug look, in which he answered to, by flipping the man off. Talon laughed, and then said. "Okay I will, I love you too. Bye"

"She said to tell you, hi."

Ash raised an eyebrow at the man, "I know." Talon rolled his eyes.

Acheron was a man who was always on the lookout for trouble. He let his eyes travel the room slowly, taking in anything and everything around him, before once again coming to rest on the man sitting with him.

"Tell me what happened out there tonight," it was not a question.

Talon sighed, ignoring the tone of his friend's voice. It was something he had gotten used to a long time ago. Playtime was over and T-Rex wanted answers, now.

"I was out for a cup of coffee. You know how Sunshine hates the stuff, well since she has become pregnant; the smell gets to her too. She can't even be around the stuff without throwing up everywhere. She has no problems sending me out to get it though." Talon snorted. "She says that when I don't have my coffee, I turn into a grump," he took a sip off the steaming cup of coffee that was currently sitting in front of him.

Ash raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. The man's wife was right of course.

"Anyway, on the way there I spot these Daimons walking up on the girl, so I head over," Talon grumbled under his breath. "Bastards are always trying to come between me and my coffee, I swear."

Ash made his voice sound as innocent as possible, "now why would your wife ever think you grumpy without your coffee?"

Talon glared, Ash smirked.

"The way the Daimons were acting was strange though," Talon had a thoughtful look to his face. "It was as if the girl was the best thing they had seen in years. They actually stayed around and tried to fight me for the girl. Hell, their leader didn't even wait to fight me before biting her." He took another sip from the coffee cup, "you think they're getting more balls?"

Ash snorted loudly, "more stupid most likely."

"Seven of them tried to keep me from the girl. That's another thing that wasn't normal about the hole thing, they were traveling in more then their normal numbers. One of the bastards even got a good hit in on me. I really wish I could have splintered his ass."

"Why do you think the girl is…" he trailed off as an image of Kagome flinching came to mind.

"Not human?" Talon lowered his voice some, "I'll tell you why, I don't know of any humans, normal or not, that can expire a Daimon, much less eight of them, by glowing."

Acheron sent him a skeptical look. "Glowing? You're sure?"

"Very," Talons deadpan voice matched his facial expression. "She would make a lovely street light," Talons eyes narrowed slightly. "We were lucky we weren't seen tonight. It could have turned out a lot worse then it did. I mean, how exactly would you explain a girl that can substitute for a night light?" Talons voice became heavily laced with a fake awkwardness. "Oh, you see miss, we had this radiation leak and well yeah this girl stepped into it. Yup, and the people you just saw turn to dust, that was a tanning bed experiment gone horribly wrong."

Ash couldn't help the slight twitching of his lips. He had always liked the Celtic-man, even if he did insist on calling him by that ridiculous nickname.

Ash's eyes, always on the move, traveled to the hallway area that led to the back rooms. He silently agreed, it could have turned out a lot worse then it did. Kagome could have died. He didn't like that thought in the least.

"What are we going to do with the girl?"

Ash stood up, tossing a couple bills on the table. "We will just have to see. Enjoy your coffee. I have to run."

Talon nodded to him in appreciation, lifting his cup to him and taking a drink.

Acheron found Mama Lo at the bar, talking to Cherif, another one of her quadruplets, and also, bartender slash, part time bouncer.

Ash crossed his arms over his chest. The were-bears both looked over at him, Mama Lo excused herself to come over and talk to him.

"The poor thing, she was so tired she fell asleep on the table in there. You know it was funny though, I didn't have to wake her up. She came awake the minute I came near her, like she knew I was there," she dropped her voice as a couple tourists walked by, insuring privacy. "Funny a normal human doing that don't you think?"

"Not really, maybe she just sleeps light."

The look Mama Lo gave him said she believed otherwise. He shrugged it off. It didn't matter if the girl was normal or not, she knew nothing of their world, his world. And if he had any say in the issue, it would stay that way. It was better off for the girl this way. Safer. The look of horror and self-loathing the girl displayed earlier, when she thought she had killed eight people, flashed in his mind. No this way would certainly be better for Kagome.

"Let her stay the night, but keep an eye on her, in the morning replace her memories of us and her wounds, then let her go. Our world is not her own, it should stay that way. It's for the best, we know nothing about her and she knows nothing about us."

Mama Lo nodded her understanding, "are you staying?"

He shook his head, "I have some things I need to do. I'll see you later"

A/N: To all the readers of this story, and my other Inu Yasha /Dark-Hunter crossovers 'How the Mighty Fall'. WOW! Thank you! Thank you! And thank you!!! I honestly was not expecting the reviews that I did receive. Simply because it is a rather unusual crossover. Nevertheless, I thought I would try it anyway and see how it was accepted. You have proven to me, beyond all else, that there are open-minded readers out there that will try something new and different.

Again, thank you!  
~SFP~


	6. Chapter 6

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inu Yasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.6

~Two and a half weeks later~

Ash walked up to the doors of sanctuary, the place was packed. Sweet home Alabama started blaring over the speakers not even thirty-seconds after he had made his entrance. Acheron looked around at all the people, he spotted several he knew, but he was looking for a certain couple in particular. He ignored the beings that were trying to leave without notice, because of his entrance.

Mama Lo and Papa Bear Peltier were standing by the bar; he started walking towards them, one thing, or person to be exact, on his mind. He was halfway to the bar on the other side of the room when he noticed her. In a room full of humans and other creatures, she stood out to him like a beckon of light.

It was the girl, Kagome; he had asked the oracles about her. They had only been able to give him one thing. Of course, it had been in the form of a shitty rhyme.

Fair is fair,  
Unto you we share,  
Her will is brought,  
For it is she the gods sought.

She wore no makeup, but then she didn't need to, to make him burn. The whole time he had been gone, she had been in his thoughts. He had believed, he would not be seeing her again, had felt a strange loss for this woman he didn't even know. And yet she was here, had probably been here the whole time, he felt relieved for some bizarre reason that made no sense to him what so ever.

Her blue-black hair was pleated and still it hung all the way to her ass. And what a fine ass it was indeed, tucked into a pair of form-fitting black leather pants. The flare of hips above that tight little ass made his mouth water with want; it also brought to his attention her small waist and the little band of silky looking skin left exposed by her dark-grey rap-around top. He let his eyes shift higher. Gods, sweet torture, even her breasts were perfect. Not to large and not to small, they would just barely overfill his large hands; there size matching that delicious flare to her hips perfectly. Damn, the woman was small, and yet, still had curves like nobodies' business.

Was the woman trying to kill him? Surely being this hot and hard was not good for his health. Then he remembered she hadn't even seen him yet. He shivered at the thought of what she could do to him, had she actually been trying to entice him.

There was something different about her though. He sent a hot raking look over her one more time, trying to find the difference. When he did spot it, it made him want to smile. There on her small, delicate feet, she wore a wicked looking pair of steel-toe biker boots, the boots had silver buckles running up the sides of them. However, the reason he wanted to smile was that the boots gave a good three to four inch lift to her height.

He had a sneaking suspicion someone was self-conscious about being short.

Someone bumped into his side, quickly knocking him out of his silent appraisal. The girl was a distraction, in his line of work distractions could get someone killed. Why was she still here when he had told the bears she was not to be? His world was a dangerous one to live in. He didn't want her hurt; the thought of it was enough to squeeze his cold heart.

Turning away from the tempting sight the young woman made, he went to where the were-bears still stood talking. There had better be a good reason for this.

"Why is she still here?"

"Ash, how good to see you too," the sarcasm in Mama Lo's voice was hard to miss. A tic started in Acheron's jaw. Mama Lo sighed heavily. "We had a bit of a problem."

Ash rubbed his right temple, where he could already feel a headache starting to form. Both bears saw the telling motion.

"Let's go in the back to talk," Papa bear said before leading the way.

The same back room Kagome had been taken to her first night here was perfect for conversations of this kind, as it had been soundproofed years ago. Just on the off chance, that one of the Peltiers lost their tempers and changed into a bear in the middle of the bar, or if one of the other patrons of sanctuary needed to be detained. It also made a great place for Mama Lo's sons to take woman and do their business if they felt the need.

As soon as the door was closed, Ash demanded answers. "What's the problem?" He crossed his arms over his chest, frustrated with the situation.

Mama Lo lifted her eyebrow at the demanding tone, "she's impervious to mind altercations, that's what!" Papa bear patted his wife's arm in a soothing motion.

Ash dropped his arms to his sides, stunned. "Excuse me?"

"Oh yeah, you heard me. She's immune!"

His eyebrows creased in bewilderment, "but how?" The question was asked more to himself then to the bears.

It almost made Papa Bear Peltier feel sorry for the man, almost being the operative word. For someone like Acheron, who always seemed to know everything about everyone else, it was probably very confusing not to know all in all about the little woman in the next room. But then Ash was a very secretive individual himself, maybe it would do him some good to see how it felt being in the dark about things, for a little while anyways.

"I don't know Cher, but we have learned a couple things about her sense she's been here." Mama Lo's lips twitched in a telling fashion.

"Oh, and that is?" Ash couldn't keep the curiosity completely out of his voice.

"The little thing has a temper on her that could rival any bears that I know of!" Papa bear laughed, heavily.

"How so?" damn him and his curiosity when it came to this girl.

"Well, you see, Dev offered to replace her memories of us, the Daimons, and the wounds on her neck. We were swamped the next day so I told him to go ahead and do it. I still do not know how she did it, but she caught him. I think she felt him up there or something." Mama Lo tapped her index finger to the side of her head, indicating where she thought the girl had sensed her son.

"Needless to say, she was not happy in the least, ended up berating him for trying to mess with peoples' heads. It was a funny sight to see! The little thing wagging her finger in his face, I think she put him in shock, cause all he did was stand there and gawk at her like she had lost her mind!" Both Mama Lo and Papa Bear both laughed this time.

Acheron wished he could have seen it. With Dev being muscular and well over six foot tall and Kagome being the little bit that she was, it would have been a very funny sight to behold indeed.

"I think her standing up to him like that has endeared her to him, honestly. He's been watchen after her like a hawk when she works the bar; it was obvious the bears carried for the girl already, something not easily done.

"And why is she working in your bar again?" Ash was trying hard to understand the situation, one that should have been relatively easy to comprehend, but for some reason he was having a hard time of it.

Both bears sobered instantly, hearing the slight edge to his voice.

"Acheron, hun. She doesn't have anyone here. We talked to her after the incident with Dev. The night she was attacked was her first night in the states. She doesn't have anywhere to go, so we offered her the position and a room to rent. She's not like other humans." Mama Lo sighed again; it seemed as if they were all doing a lot of that lately. "Besides, she already knows what we are, so we won't have to worry about hiding our true forms from her."

Ash clinched his teeth, tightly. "And how would she know that?"

"Dev threw meat at Kyle again and Kagome was there when he did it. . . . He wasn't thinking."

Ash cursed.

"She took it surprisingly well. In fact all she did was tell Dev he shouldn't tease his brother."

It was a well-known fact in their circle that Kyle, Mama Lo's youngest son, was still too young to control some of his urges. So when Dev had thrown the meat at Kyle, he had gone from looking like a twenty-something year old human male to looking like his true form, a bear.

Ash cursed again, heading for the door.

Mama Lo hollered after him. "We already boxed Dev's ears for exposing us. Acheron, don't do anything rash! She's the only one who remembered it; we took care of the other humans!"

Ash stopped, but did not turn around. "Nicolette," he used her real name, not the nickname everybody usually used. "You should know by now, I am rarely ever rash, about anything. Your cub is safe. I'm going to go have a talk with Little Bit." Then he kept walking, not giving her a chance to say anymore.

"Do you think we should go after him?" Mama Lo looked to her husband.

"No Cher, you know Ash, he wont do anything to the girl. Not anything that she doesn't want anyway," he smiled at his mate, his wife. "I think she frustrates him because he likes her."

"You're kidding, right?" Her voice sounded unconvinced.

"Not at all, did you see the look that came to his eyes when I said Dev had been watchen her?"

She smiled when he nuzzled her neck "I guess. Its just weird thinking of it that way, in all the time we've known him, I've never seen him with a woman, have you?"

"No. That's probably why she frustrates him so. You used to do the same thing to me, still do sometimes," he grumbled.

Mama Lo laughed. "Let's go to the house. Dev can watch the bar tonight."


	7. Chapter 7

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.7

Acheron treaded heavily out to the main area of the bar, looking for Kagome. It was time he got some answers from her. When he did see her, it was as if he'd been hit with a ton of bricks. She was beautiful, even more so with the blinding smile she gave him when he walked up to her. He had been right after all her lips were made for smiling.

"Hello Ash," his name on her lips was like heaven, it sounded perfect. She took his breath away.

He shook the feeling off. There was business to take care of. He gripped her slender arm in his hand; the touch sent a tingle up his own arm.

"You're on break, we need to talk," with that said, he took the serving tray from her hands, placing it on the counter of the bar, and then started pulling her towards the back rooms.

Kagome was too stunned to do mare then keep up with his break-neck strides. There was something different about him now. . . . He was still good looking. Damn sexy in fact, in his black leather pants and tight T-shirt that had a picture of. . . Was that a dragon liking a naked fairy girl? And did he change his hair color? The last time she saw him, she could have sworn his hair was black with red streaks. Now his hair was a deep metallic purple, it looked almost black it was such a deep color. Oh well, he still looked yummy to her. He seemed almost angry though, she wondered what was bothering him. Had she done something to make him mad?

After Ash pushed the door to the backroom open, he stepped in, looking to see if the Peltiers had left. They had. He brought Kagome the rest of the way into the room, shutting the door soundly behind her.

She stood there looking nervous but not scared. "Did I do something wrong?" her voice sounded unsure.

Ash paced like a caged tiger. His stride was flawless, powerful, and dangerous. Kagome bit her lip, she had never paid attention to men's walks before, but with him, she seemed to notice every delicious detail. The man had a swagger that was coming dangerously close to making her drool. Finally he spoke, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"What are you?" his accented voice was deep, dark, and tinged with an edge that sent shivers up her spine, ones not made of fear. Wow, she had never had that kind of reaction from verbal communication before.

"Excuse me?" her voice was bemused.

"I said, What. Are. You?" his voice was clipped, tight, in addition, the way he said it slowly, as if speaking to a child, well that pissed her off. He circled her as if stalking prey, trying to intimidate her.

"Now you just listen up here bud, I don't know who you think you. . ."

He pressed in from behind her, invading her personal space, making her blood rush from just his close proximity alone. He cut her off mid-sentience, his voice dropping even lower, making him sound more guttural, "little girl, you had better answer me! Now!"

Losing her temper, she snapped at him, "I'm human! What the hell are you?!"

She didn't expect him to actually answer her question, so she was rather shocked when he did.

"I'm a Dark-Hunter."

He came around to her front, still invading her personal space. She probably should have been scared, but she was not. Craning her neck, she looked up into his swirling silver eyes. Wow, he had extremely attractive eyes. This was the first time she had actually seen them. Still. . .

Tongue in cheek, she spoke again. "Wow. That would probably be very impressive, if I actually knew what the hell a Dark-Hunter was. But since I don't. . . ." she let her sentence hang open, pursing her lips and crossing her arms. Let him fill in the blank.

Damn, the woman had a sharp mouth on her. She was not scared of him in the least. For some reason that made him want to kiss her senseless, something he could honestly say he had not wanted to do to any woman in a very, very long time, moreover, if she did that cute little pout thing with her bottom lip one more time, he would not be held accountable for his actions.

"Dark-Hunters kill the things that go bump in the night," his voice was softer now, more deadly.

She really couldn't help herself this time, "SCARY. It's probably a good thing I don't bump at night then. I mean then you would have too. . ."

He cut her sentence off with a scorching kiss, the likes of which she had never felt before. Her thoughts scattered, braking with the weight of his lips upon hers. Then the pressure eased, becoming light, but no less intense.

He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth gently, stroking with his tongue, before nibbling with his teeth, then releasing it. His tongue tapped at the seam of her lips, seeking entrance, which she allowed, gods above the man new how to kiss like nobodies business. Her knees went weak. The man's mouth was pure heaven, or sin in its greatest temptation . . . She hadn't decided yet.

Ash pulled her closer, seeking more contact. He had gone and died, he just knew it, because there were no other excuses for it feeling this good having her in his arms. She tasted like raspberries and apples, innocence and woman. The combinations were enough to make him heady.

It had been so long since he had tasted anything, let alone something like her. No that was a lie; he had never tasted anything quite this good. She moaned into his mouth, making him even harder then he already was.

When her knees threatened to buckle, he caught her up under the arms, lifting her from the ground. In three long strides, he had her pinned between his tall lean frame and the wall. Kagome sucked in a sharp breath. Ash wanted to grin; now it wasn't just he, who could feel the hardness in his pants.

Kagome had never done anything like this in her life. She was always the good girl, always helping others and never taking for herself. Couldn't she just this once, take what she wanted. A man, this man. '_A stranger' _, her mind whispered. She ignored the thought, instead relishing the feel of him pressed so closely to her. It was thrilling, sensual.

She turned her head giving him better access to her mouth, which he gladly accepted. 'I really should stop this before we go too far. What if he sees them? What would I tell him? Besides I know nothing about him.' She gasped lightly when he ground himself against her, her thoughts abruptly cut short. She slid her hands up into his hair, it was so cool and silky, and it made her shiver even more with want. Using her legs, which were now loosely rapped around his hips, 'when did that happen?' she pulled him even closer.

Ash couldn't help himself. He needed to touch her, feel her. He slid his hand up the front of her shirt, feeling the silky smooth skin of her stomach. She moaned into his mouth again, making him groan from the provocative sound. He swirled his tongue around hers, using slow languid strokes. His hand slowly started to travel higher, seeking a destination, yet still giving her the chance to voice any protests she might have if she so desired. It was then that his world shattered into bright, blinding pain.


	8. Chapter 8

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.8

Kagome did not understand. One second she was kissing Ash as if her life depended on it, in the next. . .

He lifted her, under the arms again, away from his body and the wall, and then gently placed her on the ground. He took a step back, away from her, a grimace marring his hansom face. Kagome frowned, not liking that look on his face.

Why did he look as if he were in deep pain? All she had done was. . . Run her hands down the back of his neck to his shoulders, wanting better leverage in her position. She had gripped his shoulders. Understanding lit her eyes.

"Your hurt!" her words were breathless from there activities, yet worried at the same time.

Acheron ground his teeth in pain and frustration, "It will heal."

Kagome stepped closer reaching her hand out. Why had she not been able to feel his pain? She could now that it was obvious to her. But before now. . . Could he have been suppressing it? "Let me see. I can. . ."

He cut her off, his words more snarled then spoken. "I said they will heal, leave it be!"

She paused in her forward motion, tears gathering in her eyes. He was instantly contrary; he hadn't meant to scare her!

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to scare you Little Bit. I just. . ." he didn't know how to finish, and to take it back. He sighed heavily.

She blinked at him owlishly. "You didn't scare me you big dope," she breathed deeply before continuing. "I can feel your pain."

He did not know what to say to that. For one, no one called him names, they didn't dare! But of course, she had to be different. For two, the thought of her feeling his pain was too much; it tore through him like nothing else. He buried the pain again, as fast as he could.

Kagome gave him a measuring look before speaking again. "I'll tell you what, let's make a deal."

Now he was curious again, and a little amused. "Oh, and what kind of tempting deal do you have for me?" The look in his eyes as they slowly traveled her body had her flushing in heat. Apparently, he noticed because his lips lifted at the corner, giving him a boyish look. Seeing that look on his face was enough to make Kagome's insides melt, until she remembered her deal anyway.

"Now hear me out before you start telling me no, K?"

He nodded his head in acquiescence.

She spoke slowly, as if still getting used to the idea herself. "I think we both have some questions that need answering, or that we would like answered anyways. Why don't you let me treat your injury, and we can talk." Her words became hurried, as if she expected him to automatically turn her offer down. "You can ask me all kinds of questions." A sly look came to her eyes then. "And you won't even have to drag me off like some caveman to do it, I'll stay right here."

Acheron did not look even a little sheepish about what he had done. Actually, he looked rather smug about it.

She sent him a pleading look. "It can be any question, and I will honestly answer you to the best of my ability. I've never done this for anyone else," and truthfully she had no idea why she was doing it for him, it just felt right.

They were both silent as he thought about it. He could tell she was telling the truth, she just didn't strike him as a good liar. He could ask her anything and she would answer, but only if she were allowed to tend his wounds.

Of course, he couldn't forget the fact that she had said they both had questions. She wanted answers too; he couldn't fault her for that. With all the things that had happened to her since coming to New Orleans, he was amazed she had not demanded answers yet, he would have, in fact he had already. Not her though, she was content to trade questions and answers. In fact she seemed very nonchalant about the paranormal activity, as if she saw it everyday like he himself did. Why then, was she so upset and shocked about killing the Daimons? Did she know about her powers? More questions ran through his head, chasing after one another.

And although he had a lot on his mind about the whole situation, one thought stuck out more then the others. It wasn't the answers she really wanted, that would just be a bonus. What she really wanted was to help him. The thought made his heart beat faster.

"What if you don't like the questions? They might get personal."

She swallowed hard, "I'll still answer you."

She was going to trust him. Could he trust her at his back? Was him wanting to know more about her worth the risk?

'Yes,' he thought, 'it just might be.'

Kagome's breath caught in her throat when he pealed his shirt off. The man was packed! "Holly fuck!" His torso was all hard, compact muscle and deliciously tanned skin. 'Wow, an eight pack with friends,' the thought bounced around in her head for a bit. Her skin heated and her throat went dry, she swallowed. Wow, she had just been kissing this man. She swallowed again.

Ash almost laughed when she saw his bare chest and stomach. The girl had a mouth on her, was she even aware she had cursed out load? By the look in her eyes, he would say not, definitely not.

He couldn't help teasing her, just a small amount. "You're staring Little Bit."

She snapped her hanging jaw closed with a sharp clicking of her teeth. He laughed aloud.

She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well how would you feel if I just all of a sudden ripped my shirt off in front of you? Hm? You tell me that!"

The hooded look he sent her spoke louder then words. "Very privileged, wanna make my day?"

She tried to look outraged, but couldn't hold it for more then two seconds before she was holding her sides laughing. 'Gods what have I gotten myself into? He's like a mixture of Sesshomaru and Miroku. Complete polar opposites.'

Ash smiled charmingly. He had done that, made her laugh like that. It made him feel good, warm. And although he had been completely sincere about her taking her shirt off, seeing her smiling and laughing was just as good in his book.

Kagome was still chuckling and shaking her head when she walked to the small sink in the back of the room. She bent over, rummaging around in the cupboards under the sink until she found what she was looking for, the First Aid kit. Then she grabbed a small basin that was also kept under the sink, and started filling it with water. Being careful not to slosh the water in the bowl or drop the kit that was in the crook of her elbow, she turned around.

Ash was already sitting at the table, still facing her. "Did you know your ass looks great in leather?" He should know, considering he had just gotten a nice viewing of it.

Kagome blushed, the man was shameless. "Thank you. I'll make sure to let Aimee know you think so."

What did the Peltiers' only daughter have to do with it? He looked at her in confusion. "Why would you tell her?"

Kagome smiled, walking over to him. She hadn't been this way with another person since. . . Being so open and teasing. It felt nice. "I'm sure she would take it as a compliment. She helped me when I asked her about fitting in around here." Kagome's smile brightened even more. "She took me shopping."

His face softened at her words, she had been worried about fitting in.

Kagome turned missing the look on his face. She placed the water on the table then opened the first aid kit. It had been a couple years since she had done any kind of first aid treatments, but she still remembered it like it had only been yesterday. She didn't know what she would need to treat his wound, because she hadn't seen it yet. It was a good thing the kit looked fully stalked.

"Okay, turn around and let me see, please."

He did so slowly, hesitantly.

"Oh, gods," she uttered the words when she saw his back. It was a mess. This was not a wound, this was wounds upon wounds! Slashes overlapped each other in a morbid design, one that would have looked beautiful if not for the fact that they looked angry and painful. She knew what had caused them, she knew his pain personally. Angry tears stung her eyes. Someone had whipped him repeatedly.

She took up a rag that had been in the kit. After getting it wet, she slowly lowered it to the top of his back with a shaky hand. He stiffened, but did not make a noise otherwise. She felt the first tear she had shed in a long time, run down her cheek. "I know your pain, it hurts, I'm sorry. I wish I could take this pain from you." She bent, placing a gentle kiss on the spot right above were the damage started.

Ash stiffened even more when she kissed right next to the wounded area. He had to remind himself, that she was not Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and subsequently the woman who had put the injuries there to begin with. Artemis liked to lap at his wounds with her tongue, making them bleed and sting more. She was definitely not the Moon Goddess. He relaxed a little bit.

This was how he paid for the souls of any Dark-Hunter who wanted out of their contract with the goddess. It was also one of the ways the bitch kept him bound to her. His dark brethren were the closest thing he had ever had to a family. He was there leader; it was his job to take care of them.

Some blood and a couple days submission were worth a soul. It was a price he would continue to pay, for as long as he had to.


	9. Chapter 9

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

To all my dear readers, THANK YOU!!!! You have no idea how happy I am that this story has been so well accepted! I get almost the same feeling from the reviews for this story, that I do when my son brings home an award from school or my daughter learns another new sign-word. I'm . . . extremely proud of it.

WORNING: this chapter contains violence and a lot of angst. You have been warned.

Ch.9

Kagome continued cleaning and treating the wounds on his back in silence. Her tears fell steadily.

This hit really close to home for her. It brought back memories she would rather forget, but had no choice in remembering. She dreamt just as everyone else did, though she tried not to.

Against her wishes, her mind drifted to the past. Pulling her down, down, down…

~*~

"Are you sure about this Kagome? I don't want you hurt." Inuyasha could not look at her. He never could when dealing with this subject.

She studied the brightly shining stars overhead. "Of course I'm sure. Remember I am the one who asked her to join us. It was my idea." She pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. It helped ward of the chill of cold air, at least that's what she told herself.

Inuyasha sighed quietly. "You never did say why you wanted Kikyo to join the group." He glanced at her quickly, and averted his gaze again.

Kagome's voice was soft, and tired. "Can we talk about something else, please?"

~*~

She never did tell him why she wanted Kikyo to join their group. Things worked out for the best in that regard though. Inuyasha would never be alone again, unless he chose to be.

It's just too bad not everyone gets a happy ending.

She had no idea why that reminiscence played in her head. It had nothing to do with the situation going on presently. Her next recollection on the other hand, had a lot to do with why she was shaking so badly, she couldn't seem to control that ether. The memory played like a bad movie on repeat in her minds eye.

~*~

"Kikyo! Where are the shards?" Inuyasha panting voice was almost drowned out by the sounds of villagers panicking, and metal clanging against metal. Sango's battle cry sounded out somewhere close by, but out of sight.

A raiding party was decimating Kaede's village. They had just returned from a long shard hunt, only to find the village under attack, by humans.

"There are no jewel shards at work here. They are doing this of there own free will."

Kagome nodded her head in agreement with Kikyo's words.

"What? Why?" Inuyasha's voice sounded strained. He was holding back, so as not to kill the humans, only knocking them prone.

"The lands are at war my friend. There are always casualties in war." Miroku pressed one of the flowing sleeves of his robes to a bleeding gash on his forehead, trying to stem the blood flow, before it ran into his eyes. It was not long before he was drawn into combat again.

Kagome looked around at all the carnage, taking stock of all her friends' positions in the village turned battlefield.

"Where is Shippo?" her voice held a slight panicky edge to it.

"Don't know. But don't worry Kagome; the little shit can take care of himself. You just make sure those shards stay safe. Don't need any of these bastards getting hold of them, make things a lot worse if they did." Inuyasha was still holding the rebels back; he couldn't even spare a backwards glance in her direction.

The bandits were like an army, they just kept coming and they held no remorse for the lives they were taking. It was just a good thing their group had arrived when it did, otherwise there might have been a lot more deaths then there already were.

The village men were doing a remarkable job in defending considering they only had their farming implements. Even then, they were not accustomed to fighting, so deaths were to be expected.

The more time that passed, the more anxious Kagome became. Finally, she could take it no more. The battles in various parts of the village did not seem to be letting up at all; in fact, they looked like they were getting worse with each passing second.

She unclipped the necklace, which held the vial containing the jewel shards, from around her neck. She looked at Inuyasha who was still in battle, and then she looked at Kikyo who was watching Inuyasha with an approving gleam in her dark eyes.

"Kikyo I need you to keep watch over these for me. Please." the older woman gave her a blank stare. Kagome fidgeted uncomfortably. "I'm going to go find Shippo and Kaede too. I have not seen either one in quite some time. I'm starting to worry for them." She held the vial out to the other woman, pleading with her eyes. "Please."

Kikyo looked at her for a moment longer, studding her intently, then slowly held out her hand in acceptance. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief, before gently placing the necklace into Kikyos' hand. "Thank you." Even after a year of traveling with them, the woman could still give Kagome the creeps at times.

Kagome dashed through the town, heading for Kaede's hut. She had to dodge fights though, so it took a bit of time to get to the old woman's place of residence. She was lucky no one had tried attacking her; bows did not make good close range fighting weapons. Just incase though, she had pulled out an arrow from her quiver. It would do as a slashing weapon, as a last resort. She really hoped she need not use it. Killing sucked.

By the time she made it to Kaede's hut, she was winded and had a painful stitch in her side.

"Nay child stay down!" Kaede's voice came from inside the hut. However, there was something wrong. Her speech sounded chocked, wheezy. Kagome took a hesitant step forward, intending to get closer so she might hear better.

A heavy footfall and the sound of metal shifting was the only warning she had before she was shoved roughly from behind, right through the doorway to the hut. She landed hard, right on her face. She could taste the blood in her mouth, from where she had bitten her tongue in the unpleasant landing. The hanging mat for the doorway would definitely need replacing later, for now it was lying in a heap underneath her.

"Hey boss, lookit what I found snooping around outside!" the males voice was higher pitched and had a slight nasally wine to it.

Kagome blinked hard, trying to clear her head some from the dizzying landing she had taken. When her vision cleared, she could see Kaede lying on her side, right in front of where she herself lay. Kagome gasped loudly when she noticed the spreading blood stain on the older woman's white top. It looked as if someone had run her through the side with a sword.

"Oh no! Kaede!" Kagome tried getting to her hands and knees, only to be pinned down by a large booted foot.

"And where do you think your going." this speaker was undoubtedly the boss. He had a deep grating voice with a sinister quality to it that made Kagome shiver in disgust.

"Don't you touch her you pigs!" that was her little Shippo's voice.

The hard slap of skin on skin and the squeak of Shippo in pain had Kagome stiffening in indignation. She started thrashing madly, trying to get out from under the heavy foot pinning her to the ground.

"My, my, you've got such spunk, such fight, and all over a pathetic little demon too. Makes me wonder how you would react to other things, more enjoyable things. Would you struggle the same way? I could only hope."

Kagome ground her teeth, as the foot holding her down ground painfully into her back. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of yelling out in pain. She didn't think she had ever been this mad in her life, she also couldn't remember a time in her life where she had felt this helpless. How dare these people!

"You let Shippo go right now or you'll regret it! I mean it mister!"

The men only laughed at her. There were three of them from the sound of it.

"What are you going to do to me little girl? You can't even move much less make me regret anything."

"You just wait until Inuyasha gets here! You are so dead!" this time a cracking noise accompanied the harsh slap that punctuated Shippo's words. The sound of it made Kagome flinch. She had to hold back tears when Shippo let out a loud grown of pain fallowed by a whimper and then silence.

"Stop hurting him! He's just a child!"

The pressure on her back was lifted, only to be replaced with a sharp pain at the back of her head, as the man gripped her hair in a tight fist. Her head was pulled back harshly, into an awkward angle. He was a rather balky man, with a nondescript face, nothing special. However, his eyes, they glinted evilly, showing his pleasure at her pain.

He moved closer to her face, she could feel his hot breath as it slid a crossed her skin, it was funny how that alone could make her feel dirty. He spoke in a calm manner, yet his gravelly voice held malice deep within it. "That's not a child. That's a demon, a monster, an abomination."

Gods, what did the man think he was, an angel? He was delusional.

She and Shippo needed to get out of dodge fast. They would have to come back for Kaede with help. Kagome brought the hand still holding the arrow up and a crossed the mans face as fast and as hard as she could. He was too slow in realizing she had the weapon; it had been in her hand concealed from view by the fallen doormat. She needed only wait for the right moment to use it, which was now.

She could feel the arrow tear into the man face, her hand and arm became wet with his blood even as he screamed in pain.

The grip on her hair tightened a second before her face was slammed down into the wooden floor, hard, very hard. She saw flashes of color behind her eyelids, could feel the worm flow of blood as it dripped from her broken nose. This was not good, the men's voices were dimming more with each painful second. She tried, really, she did, but still she lost the fight to stay awake.

Kagome had no idea how much time had passed before she was woken up with cold water being splashed in her face and down her front. It stung her face and made her gasp for breath. Apparently, enough time had passed for them to tie her up, but not enough time to stanch the flow of blood coming from the rugged wound that now crossed their bosses face. Her nose was also still bleeding. They had stripped her of her shirt leaving her in her bra and the bottom portions of her clothing. Her face was hurting her so much that modesty did not even cross her line of thinking though.

They used the rafters of the hut to string her up by her wrists. Her toes barley touched the ground; she was already starting to lose the feeling in her hands, though she could certainly feel the pulling strain on the sockets in her arms.

She could see Shippo now. Her pore little fox had been beaten up badly. Bruises marred his face along with crusted blood from his nose and split lip. A lump was forming on the side of his head, dangerously close to his temple, new blood spilt from a jagged cut on the lump. His eyes were closed in unconsciousness.

"You stupid demon loving whore, look what you have done to my face; you've marred me for life with your little stunt! I am so going to enjoy returning the favor to you! I'll show you what we do to demon whores!"

He grabbed a ruff looking leather whip from one of the other men, practically ripping it out of the man's hand in his hast to deal her his punishment.

The crack of the whip was so painful, she screamed bloody murder. She could actually feel her skin splitting every time the whip would come down on her back. A few times the whip would also wrap around her torso leaving slashes on the unprotected sides of her ribcage.

Tears rained down her cheeks in a constant flow. She couldn't breathe past the pain of it, her airways closed off. At the moment, she would gladly welcome the sweet release of unconsciousness. Before she could pass out though, he stopped. She cried harder, her breath coming back in rapid painful gasps.

"Now to show you real pain demon lover!" he said the words as if they were the biggest insult in the world. Scorn dripped from his tongue.

He held his hand out to the man holding her little Shippo. The next moments were the worst in Kagome's life. The man handed his boss a dagger. The blade glinted duly in the dimming light. Time seemed to slowdown to a snails pace for Kagome, everything seemed serial to her, like some nightmare come to life.

The man slit Shippo's throat, the cut was deep, too deep. He had virtually beheaded the fox demon. Shippo did not even open his eyes, and he never would again.

She wasn't aware she was screaming, until Inuyasha came stumbling into the room. The rest of their group arrived shortly after Inuyasha executed the men in the most painful way he could think of at the time. They would be able to remove the severed organs of the three men from the hut along with their dismembered bodies, but the blood stains in the wooden floor and walls would never come out.

She was still wailing mournfully at the top of her lungs, as her friends got her down. She could not seem to stop. In fact she didn't stop until she passed out again, something she could not remember doing.


	10. Chapter 10

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.10

Kagome came back to herself suddenly, her mind recoiling from the memory. Her stomach felt like it was rolling in turbulent waves, threatening to revolt.

Ash felt her stop in her treatment of his back wounds. When she did not pick up again, he looked over his shoulder at her. Her eyes were enormous. The rest of her face pale and tear stained.

A shaky hand covered her mouth two seconds before she bolted up and over to the trashcan by the sink. Once there she emptied her stomach contents, repeatedly.

He felt terrible; he hadn't noticed her upset before now. The very limited few that had treated his wounds in the past had never reacted in such a way. Yes, there had been a few, an extremely select few, over the years who were squeamish, but not to the point of throwing up over and over again. In addition, none of them had ever shed tears. Except for his sister, but that was so long ago . . .

Kagome felt her braded hair being moved lightly, then the touch of a cool hand upon her face, wiping at the tears still making there way down her cheeks. She should be embarrassed, but she was not, right now, all she wanted was for her mind to turn off and her stomach to quit rolling in on itself.

Ash's brow furrowed; he hated seeing her like this. He felt helpless, useless. So he did the only thing he could think of doing, when she was done emptying her stomach, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. "Shh, its ok now Little Bit. I've got you."

While she clung to the front of him as if her life depended on it, he steadily rocked her. He was feeling rather possessive all of a sudden. When her tears slowed to a trickle, she detangled herself from him.

He stood looking at her, while she went to the sink to rinse out her mouth. She was keeping her face averted from his view. When she was finished, she went back to the table and sat heavily, in one of the chairs they had just vacated only moments before.

"I'm sorry," her voice was small and dejected.

He walked back over to her, retaking his seat, only facing her this time. "There is no need for you to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I'm usually much better about treating flesh wounds." she glanced up at him before looking back down at her hands and lap again. He wondered why she would be accustomed to treating wounds at all, but did not say anything about it. Now was not the time.

"Who did that to you?" her voice was sad and slightly angry. For some reason her anger and sadness on his behalf touched him deeply. Nevertheless, he wanted to lighten her mood again just the same.

"A bitchy, green eyed monster, with an authority complex, who doesn't like sharing," he stated calmly.

She sat up straighter, looking at him sternly. Her eyes were red from crying, but besides that she appeared normal again, gorgeous. "I wasn't joking."

He raised his eyebrow at her. "Neither was I."

She bit her lip sheepishly. "Oh. Sorry."

He gave her a tender kiss on the forehead, and then smiled softly. "Thank you."

Kagome's breath caught. He was truly beautiful or handsome rather, when he smiled like that. It made him look more approachable, touchable. She cleared her throat. "I didn't do anything." 'Besides make a fool of myself,' the thought flashed through her head.

"You helped me out when you could have just walked away. That's something to Me." The look he gave her was intense.

Kagome smiled a little shakily in return, feeling a little better. "You're welcome."

Ash let out a breath. That was an improvement, he didn't like seeing her so sad. Her being unhappy came across wrong to him for some reason. It was almost the same feeling he would get when Simi was sad. He didn't like that thought. "Tell me something about yourself, Little Bit."

Kagome almost squeaked when he pulled her, chair and all, closer to himself. They were facing each other still, their legs straddling the chairs in the same position, only now the seats of the chairs almost touched. The insides of his long legs come into contact with the outside of hers, making her very aware of him.

"Um, what do you want to know?"

"Are you married?" The question had bothered him for days, ever since Lo had brought up the question of her family status. He knew she didn't have anyone with her, here in the states, but in nowadays world that didn't mean she wasn't married. His eyes narrowed. He really did not like not being able to see her life.

She huffed, slightly offended at his question. What kind of girl did he think she was; sheesh. She had more loyalty then that. Of coarse, she forgot to take into account the fact that he did not know her, it just felt like he did. "No, why?"

He ignored her question, choosing instead to ask another of his own. "With someone?"

"Again, NO!" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Good." His voice was earnest. He looked a lot more contented, self-satisfied in fact.

"Glad you think so," her voice was grumbled, but there was no missing the biting wit in her tone.

"It's only so I won't feel bad when I do this." He swooped in on her mouth, taking possession and making her sigh with happiness. The man really did have a great mouth. Her arms came away from, where she had crossed them over her chest, her hands grasping his thighs instead. Her touch sent a sock-wave strait through him.

Gods did the woman know what she did to him with her touch? He ran his fingers down her jaw to her neck, where he cradled her head until they separated, panting for air. He rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and just feeling her warm breath fan out against his lips in small puffs.

A knock on the door sounded out. "Kagome, you in there?" it was Aimee's voice. Kagome blushed, separating herself from Ash so she could go open the door. She had forgotten she was working, or supposed to be anyway.

The strong surge of magic behind her had her stopping in her tracks. She turned just in time to see Ash's shirt and sunglasses rematerialize on his body. She cocked her head to the side, doing a wonderful impression of a confused puppy. 'Well that's one way of doing it I suppose,' was her thought before her head straightened and she gave a shrug of her shoulders.

Ash was surprised at the quickness she used to turn around. Maybe, he was not the only one that did not trust people at his back. Yes, she was definitely worth some looking into.

Kagome continued to the door, opining it to find an anxious looking Aimee on the other side.

"Oh good, I found you. We were starting to get worried when you didn't return."

Ash came into view then, coming to Kagome's side. His face was passive, but something about his stance set Kagome on edge. He was on the prowl again.

Aimee's eyes opened wider when she saw Acheron. "Oh Ash! I didn't know you were still here. I thought you had left already. Well, I guess if Kagome was with you the whole time we didn't need to worry about her after all. Sorry about the interruption."

Kagome could tell Ash made the woman somewhat nervous. Of course, with the whole predator vibe thing he was sending out at the moment, Kagome could understand why. However, it did make her question why she herself was so at ease with the man. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Aimee had known him longer.

"There has been more then the one incident with the Daimons." Ash was looking directly at Aimee. His voice had that sexy edge to it again. Kagome wondered if that was his natural accent. Furthermore, was it her imagination or did she miss half of the conversation?

Aimee bit her lip looking uncomfortable. "Yes, papa has caught two of them stalking her. He expired them both."

Kagome's forehead creased in confusion. How could she have missed something stalking her? Moreover, what did Aimee mean by _Papa Bear expired them?_

"Okay, wait just one second here. Will someone please tell me what a Daimon is? I'm really tired of hearing about them and not knowing what they are!" She let out an agitated huff when all they did was stand there looking at her. "Are they some kind of demon or something?"

Both Ash and Aimee were surprised. Aimee because she did not realize Kagome didn't know what Daimons were, and Ash because she knew that demons were real.

Kagome fidgeted. "What? Why are you two looking at me like that?"

A/N: I am really surprised! I killed off one of the main characters, a child one even, and wasn't roasted over the grill! Not one single flame! Not that I mind not being flamed, in fact I prefer not too . . . it's just . . . Wow! I was expecting to be roasted and served with a side of Simi's special BBQ sauce! Or worse yet, loose some of my fantastic readers! That last chapter was a hard one for me to write, for two reasons. For one, I like Shippo! Really, I do . . . But the story needed the development. The second reason is because . . . Well . . . I'm a mother.  
Thank you for the wonderful reviews everyone! You are all very special and dear to me. You keep me writing when I probably would not otherwise.  
swasdiva - "Thank you! Your review really touched me, very deeply. As for the grammar, spelling or word choice . . . I have a beta-reader. She just hasn't gotten around to this story yet . . . she has been having some personal issues lately and I don't wont to push her."  
Kya77 - I would gladly let you know when I update . . . But you didn't leave me an email address to do so.


	11. Chapter 11

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.11

Kagome sighed heavily. How did she get into these situations again? Oh, yes, that's right; all she had done was ask a question.

At the moment, she was sitting in the Peltiers living room, awaiting the inquisition. The Peltiers home was connected to the bar by a door, a very heavily guarded door, one that would put any high-risk security prison to shame. Apparently, they did not take well to outsiders coming into their home.

Kagome rented a room from the Peltiers, but that was above the bar. This was the first time she had been into their actual home. Aimee had insisted they come to the "Big House" for this conversation. She was upstairs getting her parents right now.

Kagome glanced at Ash, who was sitting next to her on the couch. He looked relaxed, she knew better though. He still had that whole predator vibe thing emanating from him in heavy waves.

Aimee and Mama Lo come down the stairs at the same time, papa bear lumbering down behind them.

"I take it its show and tell time," Kagome muttered to herself. Ash heard what she said and he smirked to himself. The girl could be rather amusing when she thought no one was listening. Or better yet, thinking that they couldn't understand her. His mind briefly wondered to their first meeting.

"Kagome," Mama Lo and Papa Bear both nodded their heads in greeting. Kagome smiled tightly, nervous again.

"Okay we all have questions so let's get this over with. I want to go back to my room." Papa Bear looked to his mate, "as quickly as possible."

Ash looked the bear directly in the eyes. "We could have had this discussion without you. You didn't need to come down."

In fact, Acheron would have preferred the conversation to be between just him and the girl. However, seeing as the girl was staying with them. . . Well they had a right to try to find out for themselves if the girl posed more of a threat to their family then their normal houseguests usually did. He did not think she did, but he had been wrong about things before, on occasion. He was brought out of his thoughts by Kagome's voice.

"What are Daimons?"

Ash answered, since him out of anyone else in the room, would know best. "Vampires basically."

Kagome blinked, then touched her neck were she had been bitten her first night in New Orleans. "I was bitten over two weeks ago. Why haven't I turned into one?"

Ash ran his hand over his face, shaking his head no silently. He really hated Hollywood at times like this. The Peltiers sniggered quietly behind there hands. It was going to be a long night. "Common misconception, being bitten does not turn you into a Daimon."

Kagome just blinked.

"Let me explain it to you from the beginning. I'll give you the basic rundown." Ash waited until she nodded her head in agreement before continuing.

"The god Apollo created a race called Apollites; he wanted them to replace mankind. That is until he met his mistress. One day in a fit of rage, the Apollite queen sent her people to kill Apollo's Greek human mistress and son. She ordered it to look like an animal attack. Apollo found out, needless to say he was not happy. He cursed the entire race he made. Because Apollo's mistress was twenty seven when she died, all Apollites slowly disintegrate over a twenty four hour period on their twenty seventh birthdays."

Kagome gasped, 'How horrible, slow purification.'

"The only way an Apollite can live longer then age twenty seven, is if they take in a humans soul. If they choose to do that, then they're considered Daimons. The problem is, in a Daimons body the human soul dies… completely. When the soul dies, the Daimon has to go after another human for his or her soul to take its place. It's a repetitive process."

Kagome thought of Kikyo and her soul stealers. "But why do they have to drink blood then?"

"They don't, its just easer to obtain the soul that way."

Kagome then thought of a whole race of Kikyo's drinking blood from humans. She liked the soul stealer idea better, even if it was wrong. At least Kikyo's way the human was already deceased. But then the soul still died either way it was done didn't it. She shuddered not keen with that factor.

"What exactly are you Kagome?" Aimee's inquiry was softly spoken.

Kagome couldn't help it; she scowled, looking down at her hands in her lap. "I'm human." Why did everyone ask her that question?

"Are you a sorceress?"

Her brow crunched in thought. "No I don't think so. My culture and your cultures are different. I am not sure what you would call me here. In Japan, I was called a miko."

Ash thought about that for a moment. To tell the truth, he did not know that much about Japanese cultures. Oh, he could speak and understand the language fluently, but that was about it. Honestly, Japan had never interested him all that much. Probably because it was one of the only places in the world, were they did not need a lot of Dark-Hunters. Daimons didn't really like it there for some reason. In fact, there had only been the four Dark-Hunters there in over three hundred years.

Besides Japanese gods tended to be even more standoffish then others, particularly with anyone outside of there authority.

"You're a priestess."

"Yes, thank you!" Kagome smiled glad someone knew what she was talking about after all. Then something else caught her attention. "Oh! You can understand Japanese?!" her face flamed in mortification. Oh gods, he heard and _understood, __**everything**_ she had said about him in Japanese her first meeting with him!

"Yes" Ash raised an eyebrow at her, his lips tugging with the urge to smile.

'Cocky ass,' Kagome rolled her eyes at him, even while her own lips twitched. "Anyways," she dragged the word out. "That's what I am, and priestesses," she looked at Ash, to make sure she pronounced it right, she did. "Are human."

"So you marry people?"

Kagome chuckled at Aimee's question. "Well. . . I suppose I could marry a couple in the Shinto religion. However, I never have before. Why, you want a Japanese wedding?"

The question was meant to be funny, but the growl Papa Bear let lose at the end of it quelled Kagome's laughter.

"Okay! Well, no weddings for you! Next question! Please!" Speaking fast, she waved her hands in front of herself in a pacifying manner, trying to appease the father-bear's temper, quickly.

Ash almost found himself chuckling at her endearing antics. He could not remember a time in his existence were he had wanted to smile as much as he seemed to want to lately. "What else do priestesses do?"

Kagome breathed deeply. "Well, I can make blessings and of course there are other shrine duties. But since I'm not at home anymore I don't really have to worry about them."

"I think I'm just going to come out and ask what is on everyone's minds." Mama Lo sighed heavily, her hand still on Papa Bear's arm, from his last temper. She gave everyone but Kagome a deadpan look. Frankly, she was getting tired of all the beating around the bush. "Child, we would all like to know what gifts you possess."

Kagome knew this was coming. They were going to find out that she could kill them, and when they did, they would want her to leave, or worse yet, they would try to kill her. It was not fair! She liked them!

"You mean powers don't you?" Kagome's voice was small.

"Yes."

She bowed her head, smiled grimly, and then cringed. "Purification," here it comes. She clenched her eyes closed tightly.

"What kind of power is that?" Papa Bears voice rumbled loudly, there was laughter in it. "Do you clean water or something?"

Kagome blinked hard, twice. She was more then just a little shocked. They didn't know what purification was? How could that be? They were bear demons right? She had seen one of them change right before her eyes.

"Your demons and you don't know what purification is?"

All of them gasped at what she just said. Well all the bears did at any rate. Ash was still silent, thinking.

"Girl were did you get the idea we are demons. We are not demons we are were-bears!"

Okay, now Kagome was confused. "I don't know what a were-bear is. Nevertheless, I did see your son change forms. Were I come from you would be considered demons. Even your auras are demonic."

Papa Bear opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Ash spoke instead. "Would you be willing to give us a demonstration of your powers?" His voice was quiet, but carried a lot of weight. 'I need an idea of what power she carries.'

Kagome bit her lip hard. "I cant, I don't want to hurt them." She gestured at the bears with her hand. Her eyes dropped to the ground. "And then there is you, I'm not sure if it would hurt you or not. You feel different. But I won't take the chance of hurting you either."

Ash was touched. He didn't think she could hurt him. However, it was the thought that counted; he had never had someone worry about hurting him before. Hell most people went out of there way to hurt others.

Papa Bear scoffed. "Girl you couldn't hurt me if you tried."

Kagome's eyes turned unreadable for a second before she replied. "Believe what you will, I won't argue." 'But I could probably kill you with a touch,' the thought passed through her head.

"We could stand back, we wouldn't get hurt then." Kagome had never thought of Aimee as naïve, but with that sentence. . . Yes, she decided. Aimee was definitely a little naïve. 'She must get it from her father.'

"I still can't show you. I do not have any training, so my powers cannot be called on will. They only seem to work when I am threatened. " Her mind flashed to the last time she had seen Shippo. Before she could think on it to much, she banished the thoughts from her head. "And even then there are times they don't work as I would wish them to."

Everyone saw the tinge of sadness that darkened her eyes. She normally hid it better then she was doing now.

"Are you going to let me continue to stay here? Or would you prefer I leave, I'd understand if you did."

Ash closed his eyes. She had tried to keep her voice natural, but there was still a catch in it. He knew what the catch in her voice was. It was dejection. How many times had he felt the same way? There were too many times to count.

"You're still welcome here, Cher'. Just don't go breaking the rules, and you'll always be welcomed here." Mama Lo's voice was gentle.

Kagome bowed before she remembered that was not the norm here. "Thank you." Papa Bear looked the girl over. He felt bad they had upset her. "Why don't you take the rest of the night off; the bar's pretty slow tonight." Papa Bear glanced at Ash.

"No that's. . ."

Mama Lo interrupted her, "take the rest of the night off. That is an order; you have worked every night for the last week. You need a break, take it. Besides its not every night Papa Bear is this generous."

Kagome nodded silently. She would take the rest of the night off, even though she did not want to. If she did not keep busy her thoughts would wonder, which was never good. In addition, if she fell asleep, the dreams would come, which was even worse then her mind taking a stroll down memory lane. At least when she was awake and busy, she could try to banish the thoughts. However, when she slept. . . She became trapped in the unwanted nightmares that made up her past.


	12. Chapter 12

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: I am sorry to do this, but for any one that has a problem with me re-posting my chapters after they have been beta-read, this is to you. I do not in any way shape or form, repost my chapters for a cheap way of getting reviews. They are re-posted because they have been beta-read!!! MOREOVER, I really DO NOT appreciate rude reviews; they put me in a bad mood.

I was planning to post this NEW chapter, but decided not to at the same time as re-posting earlier for two reasons. For one, because I did post a new chapter the last time I reposted, and do you know what. . . I got like three reviews for a chapter I normally would have gotten more for! I honestly think no one noticed the new chapter, because I did repost the first few chapters.

Reason number two. I ended up with a migraine, and those of you who get them know, the last thing you want to do with a migraine is stare at a computer screen!!! Therefore, I took my migraine meds, and then came back on to post the new chapter. . . Only to find rude messages in my email.

For those of you, who let me know in a polite fashion that you were disappointed in not getting a new chapter, this was not pointed at you. (yusukekuramasgirl) -Smiles to you hon. Glad you know what manners are.- ^_^

As for my other two rude reviewers, you people need to learn some tact! If you do not like the way my stories are getting corrected, do not read the blasted things. I do not HAVE to entertain you; I do this for completely selfish reasons, my entertainment. The fact that other people get enjoyment from it also is just an added bonus.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.12

Acheron lead Kagome out of the house and back into the bar. "I have somewhere I need to go. Would you like to come with me?" Ash stopped walking, waiting for her answer. He didn't want his time with her to end yet. He still had questions to ask her. At least that's what he told himself.

Moreover, he did not like the looks she was getting from some of the Daimons in the bar. It was rather unusual for them to stick around when he made an appearance at sanctuary. Oh, most of them had left when he had first shown up, but there were still some stragglers. They didn't like the fact that he could read their thoughts. That kind of thing rather gave away plans, plans they might not want known.

He knew this was a safe haven for all, hell he had helped it become that way. Still, some of those Daimons that had stuck around tonight looked as if they were about ready to say the hell with it, and jump for the girl anyway. He didn't like that and he didn't want to leave her here if there was going to be trouble.

He could hear their thoughts, feel their intentions, they wanted her. The question was why? What was it about her that drew them in like moths to a flame? Could they feel her powers? He sure wished he could, 'damn it.' None of the Daimons here were actually thinking of why they wanted her, just that they did. That was greatly unnerving to him.

His eyes traveled the room, glaring at anything looking their way. Kagome didn't seem to notice any of the attention she was getting.

"Yeah, can I grab my bag real quick?" He had no idea how much of a lifesaver he had just become to her. She would do anything not to have her mind have the opportunity to drift back to the past.

He nodded his head once.

She started walking towards the stairs, but stopped when she noticed he wasn't fallowing her. "Do you want to come up with me or meet me back down here somewhere?"

Ash snapped his eyes away from the latest Daimon to start staring, looking down at her. Her hand was on his arm and she looked worried. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, why?"

"You just kind of zoned out there for a second, and you were frowning at something. I don't think you even heard what I asked you."

He glanced back to where the Daimon was, but it was gone already. "Yes I did. I'll follow you to your room."

She shrugged one of her shoulders nonchalantly. Then she completely surprised him by grabbing his hand, leading him to her room. Almost as if she were afraid he would get lost. How amusing.

It probably was very funny looking to any passerby who happened to look their way. She was so small, and he so large, yet here she was leading him by the hand, through a place he had been to countless times, like some little boy who needed to find his way. _Oh_, if the other Dark-Hunters ever found out about this one. He would never hear the end of it.

It was a good thing he didn't care what others thought of him, because her hand felt too nice to let go of. It was so small and warm, her touch safe, not demanding in the least. His hand practically engulfed hers, yet it did not feel strange, at least not the way he would have expected it to. It felt right. He gave a light testing squeeze, to which she responded by squeezing back in the same fashion. The thing that did strike him as funny was; it felt innocent yet intimate at the same time.

It was a very odd combination, for sure.

When they made it up to her room, she released his hand so she could unlock the door. He was surprised, yet again, by the fact that he actually missed her little hand being in his own. He wanted to snatch her hand back. He withheld that impulse though, not wanting to frighten her, or worse yet, have her be disgusted with him.

Her room, like so many others in the Peltiers' abode, was very warm and homey feeling, but small. The room consisted of a bed, dresser, and a small vanity table, but that was it. That was basically all there was room for. Also like so many of the other rooms at sanctuary, there were no windows.

Ash also noticed, the girl hadn't personalized her room in any way, as so many other girls were prone to do. No pictures, no clothing, not even perfume bottles on the vanity. . . nothing. There wasn't anything personal anywhere, except the large backpack on the dresser. It was almost as if she didn't expect to be here that long. How long was she planning to stay anyway? That was yet another question to ask her.

Kagome walked over to the dresser, grabbing her backpack off the top of it. She turned back to him, "all set."

He had expected a purse, not a backpack, much like his own. The only differences were, he kept his with him always and his did not look as full as hers did.

"Are you in school?"

She blushed. "No this is basically my purse. I tend to carry more than a normal purse will hold," she laughed at herself. "What is that American saying? Everything but the kitchen sink, yes?"

He nodded enjoying her talking and laughter. Right now, she was like an open book, easy to read, and he was happy with what he had read so far. Probably more then he should be.

"Are you in school? You also carry a backpack." She gestured to the bag on his shoulder. So far, she had not seen him without it.

"No, a lot like you, I carry too much for a regular purse to hold."

She gave him a strange look, then caught on to his little quip and started laughing. After she had quelled her laughter some, he spoke again. "I hope you don't mind walking. I didn't bring my bike."

She smiled again, this time a little nostalgically. "No I don't mind walking at all, its great exercise."

When they exited the room, Kagome locked the door again. "So where are we going?"

"To the place I usually stay when I'm here."

"Oh, well okay then," that just told her so much… Not!

They exited the bar with no problems, and then continued walking for a while in a comfortable silence. "So what exactly is a Dark-Hunter anyway?"

Kagome's curiosity was well developed. She actually had been holding back her inquiries; she knew first hand how hard a double life could be. The guilt lying to people could generate. She didn't want to put anyone through that if she didn't have to, and frankly, it hadn't been any of her business before. Hey, it most likely still wasn't, but . . . would it really matter if she asked her questions now? The cat was already out of the bag.

"A Dark-Hunter is an immortal warrior. We fight some of the evils that plague man kind."

She glanced up at him, but he was staring strait forward. "Like the vampires you were talking about earlier, Daimons right?"

"Yes that's right."

"Okay your turn," her voice was much more upbeat then it had been.

He stopped walking briefly to look at her "excuse me?"

She looked back up at him again. Her smile was genuine. "We've already discussed this once, remember. We both have questions, I figure this way we would both get some answers." She ran her forefinger a crossed the edge of her bottom lip in habit, thinking. The motion brought his attention to her lips, and the memory of her taste to his mind. Her eyes brightened slightly just before she spoke. "It can be like a game, we each get one question at a time, after it's been answered, it's the other persons turn."

Ash thought about it for a moment. He did not play games, ever. Nevertheless… if that's what she wanted to call it, who was he to argue. He would still be getting some answers to the mystery known as Kagome, right?

"How did you know Dev was trying to change your memories the day after you arrived at sanctuary?"

Well that was not a question she had been expecting. However, now she knew exactly what Dev had been trying to do in her head. She had known he was trying to get into her head, but not for what reason, she thought he had just been trying to read her a little more deeply. Wait! Ash knew about that?

She raised her chin a little hotly. "I felt him trying to get into my mind, not pleasant, and probably one of the easiest ways to make me angry."

He smirked, "so I've heard."

Kagome put her finger to her lip, trying to think of questions to ask the man walking next to her. Strangely enough, she was having problems thinking of questions to ask him. It was just… she felt like she was close to him already.

"Ah, ha, I know one!" She pointed the finger that had just been on her lip, into the air triumphantly. "How old are you?"

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. The little thing really was too cute for her own good. Did she know how engaging her antics were? The look he sent her was almost teasing.

"How old do I look?"

He was aware he was not supposed to answer her question with one of his own, but hey… Old habits die-hard, he was so used to having to evade everyone, it was second nature to him. Besides, she didn't seem to have a problem with it. It was probably part of the 'game' to her.

She moved in front of him, blocking his way, and making him come to a complete stop, so as not to run her over. Her eyes were searching, looking for clues as to his age, searing him with their intensity. She would never even come close to guessing right, but he would let her try anyway. He rather liked the heat just having her eyes on him caused.

She crooked her finger twice, silently asking him to bend down. When he did as she asked, she stepped closer, bringing their faces about four inches apart. She was so close he could feel her breath slide across his lower face, the need to taste her again was strong. He resisted. He could also smell her soft sent. He hadn't noticed before now, but she smelled wonderful, succulent.

"May I?" She pointed to the wraparound sunglasses covering his eyes. He silently nodded his consent, wondering where she was going with this. She gently pulled the sunglasses off his face, then folded them and hung them from the collar of her shirt. Once she had both her hands free again, she placed them, one on ether side of his face.

He closed his eyes out of reflex. Her skin was so soft, and her smell. . . Gods, he thought it had been good before. . . Turns out it got better with closeness. She smelled of warmth.

Kagome was surprised when he closed his eyes, and even more so, when he turned his face, just the slightest bit more into her left hand. Did he realize he was just about nuzzling her palm?

"Ash?" her voice was whisper soft, yet inquiring at the same time. Still it broke him out of the trance like state her proximity had on him. His eyes snapped back open. When he was just about to pull away, she startled him into stillness by tenderly placing her lips to his.

It was the softest, most innocent kiss he had ever had in his long life. He had never experienced anything like it before. Yes, they had shared other kisses, and granted, they had been exceptional, leaving him feeling excited, but this one was different from those ones. She was the one to initiate this one. It left him feeling breathless. Wow, if just one kiss from her could do that to him, what would it be like to do other things, more in-depth things? He would probably die from the sensory overload. What a way to go though. . . .

When she pulled away, it was only enough so she could look into his mystifying eyes, without going cross-eyed herself. She had no idea where the idea to kiss him had come from. It was just… In those two seconds before she had felt him start to pull away, his mask had slipped. He had looked so shocked with his own behavior, as if he had done something wrong. She had wanted to ease his discomfort, wanted to make him feel better about the situation.

They were both silent while they stared into each other, searching.

His silver eyes were unnatural. He knew they made others uncomfortable, mortals especially. That was the first reason he wore the wraparound sunglasses almost all the time. Kagome did not seem to be bothered by them being uncovered though. The second reason he wore them being, like all Dark-hunters, his eyes were light sensitive. However, seeing how it was dark out, that was not a problem at the moment.

Kagome studied his beautiful silver, eyes; they churned like liquid mercury, changing in color tones constantly. "I'm sure you've heard this a lot, but I have to tell you, you have wonderful eyes."

"Thank you," he whispered, still studding her eyes. Did she know the blue of her eyes changed also? They did not swirl as his did, but it was almost as if she had blue, opalescent, prisms in her eyes. They were exquisite far away, but up close, they were absolutely stunning.

Kagome released his face, taking a step back so he could straiten back up. She cleared her throat a little self-consciously, turning back around so they could start walking again.

"Well judging by your body build and appearance, I would say your twenty-one maybe twenty-two."

He knew she wouldn't guess right, no one ever did.

She held up a finger when she saw his expression, forestalling anything he might say. "But. . . If there is one thing, I have learned in this life. . . It would be that looks are more often then not, deceiving. Especially at first glances." She stopped talking to take a much needed deep breath. "You have old eyes. The kind of eyes that tell me you are wise." She smiled at him a little teasingly, "at least most of the time."

Her smile faded, her eyes taking on an unfocused quality. "You've had a long, hard life, your experience's show." She paused before speaking again, and when she did speak the change to her eyes was also hinted in her very softly spoken voice. "Your body and features may look young, but your eyes and aura are ancient."

She looked up at him again, and with just one blink her eyes returned to their normally aware look. He had not noticed before now, but her eyes really were more alert then other humans. Like she was constantly on the lookout for something, but not even she knew what. "So am I right about you being old? Or are you terribly offended with me right now?"

Frankly, he was rather astonished, again. That seemed to be becoming one of his normal responses around this girl. He did not know how well he felt about being taken aback all the time. However, his expression didn't show it. In fact his face didn't show anything at all about how he was feeling.

The longer he stayed silent, the more Kagome began to worry. She stopped walking again, placing her hand over her eyes and groaning audibly. "Gods, please tell me I wasn't wrong, and that I really didn't offend you just now."

He could actually see her anxiety. "No you didn't offend me, and you are right, I am old… No one has ever been able to see in me, what you just did, by looking into my eyes. It was… different that's all."

They started walking again.

She slowly let out a deep breath, only now noticing, she had been holding it in the first place. "So how _old_ are you?"

"Eleven thousand years, give or take a few years."


	13. Chapter 13

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.13

~Previously in shadows of a past~

She slowly let out a deep breath, only now noticing, she had been holding it in the first place. "So how old are you?"

"Eleven thousand years, give or take a few years."

* * *

She tripped, stumbling slightly before righting herself again. Her lips parted in shock. 'Wow, that's old. Really old! I was expecting Inuyasha old. Not older then dirt old!' she shut her gaping mouth when he arched an eyebrow at her silence.

He spoke before she could, "we're almost there."

Kagome had not even taken notice of how far they had walked.

"Where are we?" she looked around herself in curiosity.

The area they were in was probably one of the most beautiful she had seen since coming to New Orleans. However, to be honest, she really had not taken much of a chance to explore yet, besides what she had done in the first night of coming here. Working in the bar kept her mostly busy. She preferred it that way.

"The garden district."

Kagomes eyes traveled the mansions that lined both sides of the road they walked. Large oaks and pines, that had some kind of moss growing on them, dotted the area in abundance. 'How pretty.'

At the end of the street was a drive. A heavy twelve foot high, wrought iron gate, supported by two large stone pedestals, blocked the passage. A tall redbrick wall surrounded the grounds. In addition, what Kagome assumed was another mansion, was blocked from view by trees.

Ash pressed some kind of code into a security alarm, Kagome had not noticed before now. The gate rolled open smoothly, once they passed through, it closed behind them just as smoothly as it had opened.

A long winding drive lead up to the white mansion, this mansion was bigger then all the others Kagome had seen up to this point. Tall columns ran all the way around the exterior of the fortress. 'Oh my, I wonder what the heating bill on this place costs.'

"Is this your place?" Kagome looked up into Ash's swirling silver eyes. Gods was it just her, or did everyone feel this way when they looked into his eyes? She felt as if she was being pulled in, spell bound by his shining depths. She did not remember, it ever having felt like this, when she had looked at Inuyasha. And she had loved him.

"No," he continued walking, saying nothing more.

Kagome looked away, exhaling deeply. It was a good thing she had spent so much time with difficult men. It had given her a very high patience virtue. This was defiantly what she needed now.

The man must have an on and off switch. One moment he was intimidating, the next he was really nice if not a little perverted, and now he was being anti-social with one-word answers that really should have been more then one word. What made it worse was he was one of those people with the ability to make one word sound so… final, no matter what word it was.

She briefly wondered if he had multiple personalities. Then she had the thought, that maybe she was the one with the personality disorder for having followed him in the first place.

Nah…

She had learned a long time ago to fallow her instincts; they hadn't steered her wrong yet. And her gut was defiantly, without a doubt telling her, if there was anyone in New Orleans to trust, this man would unquestionably be the one.

Ash did not even bother to knock on the door; he just strolled right on in. Kagome on the other hand, was a little more hesitant to do so. For one, she was not sure how things worked here in America, but in Japan, it would be considered rude to just walk into a person's house without announcing your presence first. For two, she was still a little uncertain about wearing shoes, into said persons home. At the bar, it was ok, that was a public place, but this was not, it was somebody's residence.

Honestly, she thought wearing shoes into the house was a little gross. I mean come on, just imagine all the icky stuff those shoes had been in. Eewww.

Her third problem with just walking in, was she had no idea what or who was in there. Yes, she might be a little naive at times, but if there were one thing she was not, it would be stupid. Well… at least she was not stupid often.

Ash walked from the foyer into the living room. Kyrian, Amanda and their daughter, Marissa were all in there, playing some kind of game. As soon as Marissa saw him, she jumped up, ran over, almost tripping in her hurry to get to him. "Yay! Uncle Ash!" he bent down to catch her before she barreled into his legs.

"Hey ma komatia, have you been a good girl for your mommy and daddy?" She gave a solemn nod of her head, looking entirely too mature for a four and a half year old. Then her face parted into a large grin, ruining the grown-up look.

Kyrian got up from his spot on the floor, and then bent to help his very pregnant wife up also. "Hey man, how's it going?"

"Its going," he shrugged one of his shoulders. "I brought someone I'd like you to meet. This…" It was only after he had turned around, that he noticed Kagome was not there. Kyrian and Amanda both gave him strange looks. His brows shot up and then down. Oh hell no, where was the girl at? She had just been right there with him!

Marissa giggled, "Look mommy, uncle Ash has invisible friends too!"

Ash blinked at the child, 'invisible friends indeed.' Amanda and Kyrian both broke out into laughter, not even trying to hold it in.

He placed Marissa back on her own two feet gently, giving her a pat on the head before straitening back up. "If you will excuse me for a moment I will be right back," with that he walked back into the foyer, where he noticed the front door was still open.

When he exited out said door, he immediately found the woman. She looked to be debating with herself. "Is there a problem?"

Kagome jumped, startled. She placed her hand to her chest, vaguely noticing she still had his sunglasses hanging from her shirt collar. "No . . . it's just . . . . No, no problem." Her hand dropped back to her side.

"Good". Ash took the two steps that had been separating them, bringing them within inches of each other. Kagome craned her neck looking up at him from this close. He was looking down at her, his face unreadable again.

He brought his hand up by her collarbone, fingering the material of her shirt. He slid his fingers, two of them on the inside hem and his thumb on the outside, down to the V that ended right at the beginning of the valley between her breasts, his fingers barely brushing the top curve of her right breast.

Her eyes widened, cheeks flushing with heat. Then he did something that totally threw her off. He plucked his sunglasses from her shirt, put them on, and then took a step back. Was the man trying to tease her?

"Come on then. I have some people I want you to meet."

Kagome's eyes narrowed just the slightest bit. Oh, she was so going to pay him back for that little stunt!

Ash got the distinct impression he had just done something incredibly stupid by goading her in such a way.

She smiled largely, showing many strait white teeth, a predatory look about her. "Sure let's go."

Ash shook his unease off; at least she was smiling right? . . . More like a baring of her teeth really, but still, what could the Little Bit do to him, that someone else had not already?

Kagome walked in before ash, forgetting her reservations from just moments before about walking in. she paused just inside the door, waiting until he was next to her before she continued. The house was even more beautiful on the inside then it was on the outside. Kagome noticed Ash kept moving his head in her direction, as if he expected her to just up and disappear or something.

She could hear the murmur of people talking in the next room over. It was then that she heard something that sucked the heat still lingering in her cheeks right out.

"Daddy were did uncle Ash go? Did he go to play with his friend?" Then there was some laughter, too adults, one male and one female, from the sound of it.

There was two reasons she paled. The first one being, she was not expecting him to bring her to meet his family! I mean come on, couldn't he have at least given her some kind of warning before hand. An "oh, yes your going to be meeting my family" would have been nice! Before they arrived would have been extremely nice! For gods' sakes, she was in their house and he still had not told her! Some little girl she had not even met yet just did!

This brought up the second reason for her going cold so fast. Besides her brother, who she had rather avoided until he had confronted her about it, she had not been around another child since . . .

'Just bury it as deep as you can. You can get through this. It's not the same.' Gods she could only hope she didn't get sick again.

Ash noticed when she stopped walking this time. He stopped too. There was no way he was going to walk in to that room and have the same thing happen twice! Was she shy? He didn't think so, not with what had happened between them at the club.

She looked a little pale to him; was she getting sick? Maybe he shouldn't have brought her. "Are you alright Little Bit?"

"What? Oh, yes. Sorry."

That was all the prodding it took for her to start walking again. However, her color still did not look right to him. He would just have to keep a closer eye on her. 'Just to make sure she's really alright of course.' The laughter from the next room was starting to die out. Keeping a better eye on her would also insure he was not looked upon like some kind of loon with mental issues again. It might be somewhat… difficult to be scary and badass if no one took you seriously, he thought with a little amusement.

Ash walked back into the living room, Kagome beside him this time.

Kagome's eyes automatically scanned the room, looking for two of the three different voices she had heard upon entering the foyer.

The first person her eyes landed on was a tall, pregnant, dishwater-blonde, woman. The woman had a kind air about her, putting Kagome a little more at ease. Not much, but even a little, seemed a great deal at the moment.

Amanda smiled, "glad to see your friend reappeared." She winked at Ash good-naturedly. She then extended her right hand to Kagome. "I'm Amanda Hunter."

Kagome had to look up at the pregnant woman. She nervously stuck her hand out also, which the woman shook then let go of. Kagome's smile was more, a tightening of her lips then anything. "Kagome."

The second person she sighted was a tall dark haired man. He carried the same kind of aura as the man that had saved her, her first night being in New Orleans. He was a hunter. Not in the same league as Ash by any means, but still dangerous nonetheless.

The man was staring at her, in what seemed to be fascination. Kagome fidgeted. That seemed to snap the man out of it quickly enough. Though he did not come any closer, he still introduced himself with a polite nod of his head, "Kyrian."

Kagome gave a half-smile and a nod of her head in return. If that is what one could call the slight twitching of her lips and minuscule movement of her head.

Ash just now noticed Kagome had avoided looking at Marissa. What was that about? Did she not like children?

Marissa took a couple steps forward, the look on her face a lot like her fathers had been, only there were elements of wonderment there also. With a deep breath, Kagome finally looked at the child.

The third person, the one that had made her dread even entering the room, was a little girl, five years old maybe, with dark blond hair. A good mixture of her parents shone through to any person willing to take notice.

She would not let the little girl's presence bother her. She could be strong . . . . Gods she really was pathetic.

Kagome smiled at Marissa. Not a forced smile like the ones she had given to Amanda and Kyrian, but a real smile, tentative though it was. But that's not what caught and held Ash's attention, what really hit Ash all the way to his core was the longing look in her eyes, the one that had been there for just the briefest of moments, before she had shrouded the emotions so deeply, the color of her eyes actually changed, they became lighter.

Marissa was the one to break the silence. "Wow, you're very sparkly," she turned to her father then. "Isn't she pretty daddy? She's all bright and shiny! Not like others, she has a lot not a little. Can I be like that when I get older?"

Kagome's eyebrows shot up in surprise. 'What is the little girl talking . . . Oh.' Her lips parted slightly, her breath escaping in a silent whoosh. She blinked heavily, clearing the shock from her face, before looking at the other adults in the room, trying to discern if they knew what the little girl was talking about.

Ash wore a blank look, but his eyes gleamed with contemplations. Kyrian had gone slightly pale. Amanda, well she giggled a little nervously before speaking. "Not in front of company honey. Remember what mommy told you?"

Marissa pouted a little, but still nodded her head in agreement just the same. A heavy awkward silence hung in the air. Kagome fidgeted once again, before at long last speaking. "Maybe I should go?"

Amanda opened her mouth to speak to the raven-haired girl, hoping to ease some of her discomforts, but before she could, Acheron spoke to her first. "No."

He could feel the tingling in the back of his neck that told him there were Daimons close. Were they just in the area by chance, searching for their next victims? Or had they actively sought out the woman with him? Didn't matter either way, he still needed to deal with them. Would they actually put up a decent fight this time, probably not, things just were not the same now a days.

"There's something I need to take care of." He gave Kagome one of those looks that said he expected her to listen. "I want you to stay here, with Amanda," he headed for the door.

Kagome opened her mouth to protest his order, but he had already exited the room. She huffed quietly instead. Was it just her or did he boss everyone around?

Kyrian spoke, "don't take it personal. He bosses everyone around when he feels there's good reason."

Kagome's strained smile became a little shakier. She had been told on several occasions that her thoughts and emotions where both very easily readable, but it seemed as if the man had just plucked the thought right out of her head. Now that was a scary thought in of itself. Sometimes her thoughts were not fit for the public populace.

Kyrian bent his large frame slightly, to whisper something in his wives ear, before he too quit the room, heading in the same direction Ash had walked only moments before. Amanda cleared her throat before speaking. "They'll be back in a bit. Would you like something to drink?"

The Hunters had an extremely large modern kitchen. The appliances were stainless steel, the counter tops marble, and the walls a very dark green color.

Once Kagome sat down at the kitchen table, the little girl Marissa climbed up onto one of the chairs right next to her. She was still sending Kagome looks filled with curiosity and wonderment, but at least the child had stopped staring at her openly.

Amanda poured some orange juice for Marissa. The pore woman sitting at her table looked so uncomfortable, it made her feel bad. "What would you like to drink? We have juice, milk, coffee, soda, and raspberry tea."

"Raspberry tea please."

"Sure thing." Amanda puttered around the kitchen silently grabbing the things she would need to make the tea, and putting the water on to boil. She was also trying to think of ways to get the little woman at her table to loosen up and relax some, though she could not blame her for being tense. She would be too; if Ash had just dumped her with people she did not even know. There was no help for it though, he had a job to do, and that would always come first. It had to be that way, if the human race was to continue on living.

Poor Ash... At least he liked his job...

***

Ash really hated his job sometimes, like right now for instance. He had come outside, only to find some of the most pathetic Daimons in existence. He had been standing right here, out in the open for all to see, for more then two minutes, and they still had not taken notice of him yet. How utterly sad, he had much better things he could be doing with his time.

They were huddled together, like some reject football team, and they were not even being quite about their plans to, "_get the girl."_

"NO, NO! That wont work," one of the taller ones spoke up.

"Why not?"

Gods! Was that one actually pouting? How much lower could they possibly get? It was time to put an end to this mockery. "Me," Ash stepped forward, throwing a dagger at the one that had been pouting, nailing him right in the hart, disintegrating him instantly.

The others sprang apart, turning to face him. He rolled his eyes at their uniformed actions.

"Who the hell are you?" well that explained their stupidity, now didn't it. They were new to being Daimon. They had to be, in order to have not recognized him.

"That's a Dark Hunter you fool!"

Ash heard one of them whisper to the one that had just spoken. Kyrian must have heard the comment also, because he was chuckling when he stepped up to Acherons side. They had no idea just who they were dealing with. Ash was not just any Dark Hunter, he was _**the Dark Hunter.**_

Ash's voice was bored, "would you really like me to introduce myself? I might even be persuaded to throw in some cliché line like, '_I'm your worst enemy.'_ But to tell you the truth, I'd really much rather kick the shit out of you and be done with it."

Kyrian snorted loudly in amusement.

The Daimons charged them.

A/N: Hey everyone, I just thought I would let you all know, this is your Christmas gift from me. I'm a little bummed at the moment, and thought if I got some good reviews, that might cheer me up some. My husband, whom I have been with since I was sixteen (almost ten years now) had surgery today on one of his lungs and will be in the hospital for a while. He's doing ok right now, but the whole thing has been stressful as all hell.

Anyway, much love and peace you all.

~SFP~


	14. Chapter 14

Shadows of a past  
By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ch.14

Ash hit the last Daimon in the jaw with a solid right hook, knocking him flat on his back. Then he twirled the same dagger that had taken out the first Daimon, between his fingers before plunging it into the Daimon's chest, splintering him into dust, the wind would later blow away.

What a disappointment. He didn't even need to get his staff out for the fight. If one could call it a fight even. All six of the Daimons had been taken care of with the same dagger and, or bare hands.

Ash looked over his shoulder at Kyrian. The ex-dark-hunter had his arms crossed over his chest, his back leaning against the brick wall surrounding his property. He looked very casual. Looks were very deceiving.

"You could have helped you know."

"You didn't need me to," Kyrian pointed out the obvious with a shrugging of his shoulders, straightening from his position of leaning against the wall.

Ash stood up from his crouched position, wiping away some Daimon dust on his shoulder with a well-practiced flick of his wrist.

Both men started a slow trek back to the gates of the driveway.

"When you look at Kagome, what do you see?" Just like Kagome; Ash had also taken notice of the father and daughters facial expressions. It was obvious they both saw something different then others, when they looked at the small woman.

From what Ash's goddaughter had said, it was something she found to be very pretty. However, she was, only four years old… And four year olds could find the simplest of things beautiful… But Marissa was no normal four year old. Add to that her father's reaction, and well, there you had it.

Ash had thought, that with Amanda being a powerful sorceress, she could tell him something about Kagome and her powers. That maybe she could see or sense something he could not. Just because the fates had blocked his ability to see Kagome's past, present, future, and powers, did not mean others could not read her. Amanda might still be able to tell him something, but for now, he wanted to hear what her husband saw when looking at the woman.

"Her soul, when we go into the house again, look at her with the same sight you would a Daimon."

Ash sighed, his powers did not work the same way a normal dark-hunters did, he sent a look Kyrian's way, or an ex-dark-hunter in this case.

All dark hunters could sense the presence of a Daimon within a certain range. They could also see where the souls, Daimons stole would gather in the Daimon's chest. That is how they knew where to stab a Daimon, so they could kill them and release the trapped souls.

Because of what he was, he need not look for the souls. He actually felt them, they cried out to him in misery, fear and pain, wanting release. Not to say he did not have the ability to see souls, because he did. He just did not need the power most the time, so he did not use it.

Kyrian interrupted his thoughts. "I've never seen anything with a soul like hers before. Where did you meet her at?"

"Sanctuary, she was…"

They had already entered the gate and were halfway down the drive, when a bolt-hole opened up, right in the middle of one of the rose gardens in Kyrian's front yard. Daimons were starting to pour out the portal.

"I'm thinking I might just help you out this time." Kyrian grimaced heavily, "Amanda's going to be pissed about them trampling all over her roses."

"Better the rose's then us." Ash sent a look to the house; the women would be fine as long as they stayed in the house. He plugged the ear pods from his mp3 player into his ears then pressed a button. God smacks' song, 'alive' started playing. It was time to have some fun. He materialized his staff into his hand. "Let's go."

* * *

Kagome kept getting a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. She did not know what was causing it though. It had started out small, just a twinge of discomfort, but the more time that passed, the worse the feeling became. 'What is it? Where is it coming from?'

Amanda was asking her another question; she needed to pay closer attention, so as not to worry the other woman. Kagome pushed a strand of hair that had come lose from her braid back behind her ear.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

Amanda poured some of the steaming water from her kettle onto the tea bag in the cup. She drummed her fingers on the large bars countertop, waiting for the tea to start seeping. "I asked how you happened to meat Ash, if you don't mind my asking."

Marissa stopped coloring on the paper her mother had given her, eagerly looking up at Kagome, waiting for her answer. Kagome could feel both of them staring at her. It was a little unnerving.

"We met in the bar I work at, 'The sanctuary'." Kagome was not going to get into _how they had met_ exactly. Let the other woman think what she wanted.

Amanda's eyebrows rose slightly. "Hmm, yes, I know the place." She wandered if Kagome had any idea what so ever, about the beings she was dealing with. She herself, at one point in time had been surrounded in the supernatural, but had not known it at the time. She smiled to herself; her life had been very sheltered, not to mention boring, before she had met her husband. Before Kyrian, she had even tried to deny herself her own abilities. "How do you like your tea?"

"Just plain thank…" Kagome's sentence trailed off. The feeling she had been having was getting worse. She could feel her stomach tightening with apprehension. All of them needed to leave, now, as quickly as possible.

Kagome stood up from her seat quickly. The chairs legs scraping the floor as she did so. Amanda was looking at her in puzzlement.

"Wha . . ."

Kagome turned where she was standing, and then scooped Marissa up into her arms. "Come on Amanda! We need to get out of here! Fast!"

"What are you talking about? Why would we need to leave?" Amanda was just standing there, hands on her hips, confusion on her face. They did not have time for Kagome to explain the feeling, or why she was having it. She did not even know why she was having it. It was just there, Weighing heavily in her stomach, creeping its way up into her chest.

"No time to explain. Let's go!" Kagome ran over to the pregnant woman, switched Marissa over to her left hip, then grabbed the pregnant woman hand and started dragging her from the room.

Amanda was surprised, Kagome might be little, but she was by no means weak. The pull on her arm was proof enough of that; the girl had almost pulled her off her feet to get her moving!

Why was she scared all of a sudden? Amanda could see it clearly on the young woman's face. Maybe she could sense the Daimons Ash and her husband were dealing with. That had to be it, right?

Amanda started to protest them leaving. They had just cleared the kitchens doorframe, when the kitchen window at the front of the house shattered, sending fragments of glass flying everywhere.

Some kind of metal canister hit the floor, it made a clanking sound as it rolled to a stop on the tiled floor. Amanda gasped loudly, any protests she might have made dieing on her lips.

Smoke started pouring from the canister in heavy waves, giving Amanda that last little push she needed to turn around and start moving on her own. Kagome had been pulling her on shear strength alone.

The large living room window shattered next, followed closely by the soft thud of another medal canister hitting the carpeted floor. "Cover your nose and mouth!" Kagome shouted. Marissa buried her face in Kagome's neck and shoulder area, while Amanda covered her lower face with the sleeve of her shirt.

The gas was rushing to meet them from both ways. Kagomes eyes started burning and watering. "Close your eyes too! I'm not sure what this stuff is!" Kagome made the turn that would take them into the Foyer, then out the front door. What she found there was no surprise to her, the room was already starting to fill with the noxious smoke.

"What about you… You can't cover your face while you're holding onto the both of us." Amanda clenched her eyes closed even tighter. She was starting to feel light headed, even with having her face covered. How were they all going to get out if none of them could see? "Hand me Marissa, at least them you'll be abele to cover part of you're face while we run."

"Don't worry about it; we're almost to the front door anyway." Kagome didn't want to waist the time it would take to switch the little girl off. She also did not want Marissa's face exposed to the gas. She could not imagine putting the little girl through that if she didn't have to. "Marissa sweetie, hold your breath okay." She felt the little girl nod her head in agreement. Kagome was starting to have trouble breathing, and her eyes were burning and watering. She'd have to suffer through until they made it to the door.

They were going to have to pass through the large cloud of smoke, currently filling the foyer, in order to reach the front door. She held the half breath she had taken in, as they made a break for the door. She could not see at all, and her face was starting to burn, as if she had been out in the sun way to long. Where was the blasted door? She felt as if she had been running forever, with no sing of the door or even the wall. Had she veered off track? Even if she had, wouldn't she have run into something by now?

'_**There!' **_

Amanda ran into her, not expecting to stop so suddenly. Kagome's arm, which she had been holding out in front of herself, buckled. Her stomach hit the door handle hard, knocking the breath she had been holding out of her.

"Sorry," Amanda's voice was muffled. Kagome gave Amanda's hand a tight squeeze, before hurriedly letting it go. She grabbed for the door handle, struggling not to panic when she had to feel around for it and straining not to take in a deep breath. A hard thing to do, when the natural reaction to having the wind knocked out of you, is to gasp for breath.

The door came open with no troubles, once the handle was found. Kagome reached back for Amanda, then pulled them all threw the open doorway, gasping for breath greedily the second her face touched fresh air.

She still could not see threw the heavy tears leaking from her eyes, but she did feel it threw her hand when Amanda's knees gave out. Oh gods! Had the pregnant woman taken in a lot of the gas? Had the poisonous gas seeped into their systems even with their faces covered?

"Amanda, are you alright?" Kagome could hear the frantic edge in her own words, even with her voice sounding coarse and raw, complements of the gas.

"Yes, I'm fine. Just got a little light headed. I need to sit for a minute that's all." Amanda looked to Marissa, who was just now moving from the crook of Kagome's neck. "Are you alright Baby? You didn't breath in any of that did you?"

"I'm okay mommy." Thank gods above, Amanda thought with no small amount of relief. The relief was short lived though, once she saw her front yard.

Kagome set Marissa down gently, keeping a hand on her shoulder for a few seconds just incase she had breathed in any of the gas. Marissa seemed fine. "Go sit with your mommy sweetie."

"Okay," Marissa went straight to her mother, who like Kagome, also noticed they were not alone. As soon as the little girl got within touching distance of her mother, Amanda pulled her into her arms, covering as much of her little girls body as she could with her own.

Second A/N: I know, I know. . . I'm evil leaving you guys at a cliffy like that. -Insert evil cackle here- I just cannot seem to help it though. . . Besides, a little suspense is good for the mind.

OK, I know this might be a little different but . . . here it is.

My Birthday is this month, and I have decided to post chapter fifteen of this story on that day, in order to celebrate. Now this is what I want from you the readers -if you would be so kind as to indulge me- I would like you guys to guess which day of this month my B-day lands on!

I know, I'm weird. At lest that's what my husband and kids tell me. ^_^

Over n out

~SFP~


	15. Chapter 15

Shadows of a past

By SFP

DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. The Dark-Hunter series belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

A/N: To the wonderful AnimeHuntress, thank you. Your work on my stories is deeply appreciated. I could always say, I couldn't have done it without you, but that just wouldn't be true. I could do it without you . . . It just wouldn't be as good.

Ding, Ding, Ding!!! You were right sesslover1489; my birthday is the seventeenth of January. By the way, you were the only one who guessed right, even if a lot of others got really close.

Happy belated birthday to loretta537, hope this is a good enough present for you dear.

And to all the rest of my reviewers that guessed, thank you for taking the time to humor me. I really got a kick out of some of the reasons people guessed the dates they did.

Ch.15

Kagome could hear fighting taking place in the distance. Her vision was still no more then a blur though, so she couldn't make out who was doing the fighting. However, she could make a good guess. It wasn't hard to put the pieces together.

What really had her worried though were the two figures rapidly moving towards the house. There was no way she could fight in this condition if someone came for them. She could barely see, and anytime she took in a breathe, her lungs felt as if they were going to explode.

She looked at the pair sitting behind her, as best she could. She couldn't just leave them to their own devises; it just wasn't in her to do so. She came to a desision then, she would stay right here and do the best she could to defend mother and daughter from any danger that might present itself. The least she could do, would be to devert attention from the other two.

The two people approaching the house had dark, distorted auras. It reminded Kagome a lot of Kikyos'; accept hers hadn't been as dark. "What do you want?" kagomes voice didn't shake as she thought it would. It was clear of any fear she might hold at the moment, which in truth was quite a bit.

"we came for the girl, hand her over and you may live."

The daimon who hadn't spoke, smirked to himself. at least until they got their hands on the girl, after that . . . She was his for the taking. Why did his boss's sister want the child when there was this girl? Oh well, her loss would be his gain.

Kagome scoffed. How many times had she heard some cliché line like that? Like she would just hand an innocent child over to these two. Did they think her daft? Her back straitened with determination."Go away. You're not laying a finger on the child or her mother."

Amanda was yet again surprised. The timid woman Ash had brought into her home was no more, instead in her place stood a strong, confident, take charge woman, who dealt well under pressure. She reminded Amanda of the dark-hunters she had become acquainted with in resent years. Powerful. Holding her daughter tightly, she sat back to watch what the woman would do. If thing got too out of hand then she would step in, until then her first priority was to her children.

A rich, dark, sinister chuckle escaped the daimon that had yet to speak, startling Kagome. "You leave her to me. Get the child." his voice was just as dark as his laugh had been.

Kagome vaguely wondered if all bad people were born with sinister voices, or did they sit in front of a mirror for an hour everyday practicing? She swallowed a little nervously before taking a step to the left, hoping to block the view of mother and child as best as she could.

The daimon moved fast. Too fast for kagomes sense of comfort. It was just a good thing she had experience dealing with fast moving beings, it also helped that she could see auras even while blinded by watery eyes. If she hadn't moved her head to the side just in time for his hand to slip past her face, her neck would be in his grasp at this very moment. It was rather surprising, even to herself, when she lifted her knee, planting it right in the jerks groin.

'Ha take some of that asshole' she thought a little triumphantly. Her excitement over the small win she had just made against the man now laying on his side in a fetal position was short lived though. His partner moved as if to go around her, towards the little girl.

Kagome stepped into his path, blocking the way once again. Not that she could see, but the daimon gave her a sneer. "I told you, you're not touching them."

His eyes narrowed even more. "Do you really think you can hold us both off? That little love tap you just gave my brother wont keep him down for more then thirty seconds little girl. Now move before you get killed."

The one on the ground snarled his words. "Kill the little girls' mother. That bitch is mine to take."

Kagome sensed the one standing in front off her move as if to go past her again. He was moving faster this time. She had no other choice but to try to tackle him. She went for it. It wasn't until after, they had already landed on the ground in a squirming heap, that she felt the slice of a blade to her side.

In her head, she could hear the echoing cry of her name come from Amandas' lips. It was happening again! They were going to defeat her, pin her up and make her watch as more innocents were killed!

NO! Not again! She would not let them. Her body stated to shake in uncontrollable rage. There was no way she could handle that. Not again. There was an eerie silence in kagomes head for a moment. Then the daimon, which she was still on top of, started to scream and wriggle as he disintegrated by the power poring from kagomes being. Her soul felt as if it were breaking free.

Amanda watched in fear as the switchblade, she had not even seen the daimon pull, came down a crossed kagomes side. She was just about to join the fight, when the real shocker had come. The girl started glowing softly, and the daimon she was sitting on top of started to turn into dust. Was this even possible? Amanda had never heard of such a thing happening, unless the daimon went out into the sun, or was stabbed were they held there stolen souls.

Kagome didn't seem to notice her wound as she lifted herself from the ground. When she looked to Amanda, Amanda gasped. Her body was glowing softly, but her eyes absolutely shone, pearlescent, no one real color what so ever. Marissa smiled. "Pretty, huh mommy?"


	16. Chapter 16

So sorry you all! My stories are going to be on hold for a while. -Pouts- I broke one of the fingers in my hand. I can be so klutzy sometimes. I am also suffering from some writers block at the moment. On the bright side, I am finally getting married to the man I have clamed as my husband for the last ten years. -our anniversary was the first of this month, and we are getting hitched on the twenty fourth. We were actually thinking about doing it on April fools day (the first of April) but decided that might not be the best idea. LOL! Well anyway, wish me luck with changing my last name. ^_^" Hopefully I will get over this blasted writers block soon.

P.S. sorry this was not a chapter.


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